Boundless World of Illusion
by Terry N. Muse
Summary: An outsider finds himself wandering Gensokyo. Sounds like a typical tale so far. But after it is thrown away, it rests on a second to force their hand. One closer to they than might be preferred... After all, there often are much worse ways to go. Sequel to Boundless World of Danmaku.
1. Fate Antagonized

**Oh, would you look at that? I've begun my next project alongside my Muse!**

**Welcome one, and welcome _all,_ to Boundless World of Illusion! Thankfully, it didn't take too long for us to come up with a decent plot for this one, so hopefully it won't take as long to write up as BWD did. For my old readers migrating from BWD; welcome back! For my new readers looking for a badly written Gappy Sue fic; welcome!**

**For those wondering, my Muse is in fact a physical person. He's awesome and will be the one actually writing most of this story. Old readers should be able to recognize who wrote which chapters.**

**For anyone who wasn't here for Boundless World of Danmaku, you might want to read that (But skip chapters 3-10. Seriously). To summarize the craziness that went on in it... well, let me give it a shot here:**

**Act 1: Darius Loyhrs is gapped to Gensokyo.**

**Alright, now that I've probably lost half my audience, let me actually get to the important parts (in chronological order; the _really_ big roles are near the bottom).**

**Cirno is doing some of Eirin's drugs and has become a wise-ass, Darius' primary ability is of balance, his old friend Karin Muyoka has followed him to Gensokyo, backstabbed Yukari and stole her powers, a former shinigami and current oni turns out to be friends with a crazy card-carrying mask lady, Shinki is (mostly) dead right now, Mima and Marisa were last seen fighting Yuuka, a war started after Karin did away with spell card rules, Gensokyo is just one of countless Sanctuaries scattered throughout the world, Darius' family is linked to one of them, his remaining family was last seen preparing to wage their own war, Byakuren and Myouren wandered off into places unknown, Karin awakens dragons the world over, Darius makes a deal with the devil and is currently paying one hell of a price for it.**

**Whew, that's a lot of words compressed into just a small handful here, so there are a _lot_ of other small-but-important details scattered throughout BWD, so you might not get a couple roads this fic takes without having read that one first. I am so sorry if my writing is atrocious, I know it is, but that's the main gist of it.**

**BWD ended with the Wildcard getting decked by Reimu and co. despite having made her deal with Darius, who was last seen about to kill Karin.**

**TL;DR IT DIDN'T HAVE A HAPPY ENDING AND THIS ONE MIGHT NOT EITHER I'LL PROBABLY FLIP A COIN TO DECIDE IT OR SOMETHING**

***ahem***

**Damn, this is one huge author's note...**

**And now, getting to the actual story, Boundless World of Illusion. I hope you all enjoy this horrible story and have a great time reading it oh what the hell am I saying?**

**Well, just buckle up and enjoy the ride!**

**~ Terry and Muse...**

**– TOUHOU –**

Images flashed across his mind, memories melding into each other, a maddening stew of crazed emotion, desperation–

_"Godkiller – CALADBOLG!"_

_"You won't stop me. _**You can't stop me. _You'll never stop me."_**

"No, Darius… I think you'll find you _can't_ die."

**_"Destroy… I will… destroy… all…"_**

"You always think of yourself as in control of everything, don't you? You false god."

_"Hurry up… AND ANSWER ME, DAMN YOU!"_

_Don't… let me… die…_

"But don't get too excited about such a prospect… you'll regret it."

_Don't… want to… die…_

_"Of such is the kingdom of heaven."_

"Think pleasant thoughts, Darius Loyhrs. They'll be your last."

_What is the answer?  
Is there an answer?_

"You wanted change… But not every change is for the better."

_"Light and darkness… will fight time and again without end, without any hope of escape. But tell me, what happens when both the light and the dark are wiped from existence? What steps forward when there is nothing left but the _nothing?"

_Prove yourself, Darius. I ask you on question, one I hope that you will come to answer soon. Who am I?_

_"Wake up, stare into the reflecting pool, and answer me one question; who are you…?"_

_I'm not a messiah. I never was._

"I'll make her pay ten thousand times over."

_"You have never walked that path! You know nothing – NOTHING – of the horrors I have!"_

"Can I even call myself… _myself?"_

_Welcome to oblivion, Darius. I hope you like it, because you'll be here forever._

**"We're just getting started."**

**– TOUHOU –**

_'She's back, my brother. Gather the Four – we have work to do.'_

_"… We are not four. Not anymore."_

_'Explain.'_

_"Samson left. He grew impatient when She never came back."_

_'I should have expected as much. And the other?'_

_"Alive… whereabouts unknown."_

_'Hmm. Elusive as ever. Nonetheless, I have a job offer for you.'_

_"Don't waste your breath."_

_'Not from me – from _Her_. And you know what will happen if we deny her.'_

_"… Joy."_

These words echoed in 'Ehud's' head as he walked down the streets. For once, it seemed rain had come to visit Japan. Thankfully, it was merely a light drizzle, the worst of the storm having already passed. Even so, his wavy shoulder-length hair – a shade of red so dark it was borderline black – was matted to his face by what little rain there _had _been. His imperious, unnaturally bright blue eyes flickered back and forth between his surroundings. Searching – both for his target, and for potential threats.

It didn't seem there would be any, even in this dump ruled by the lawless. Police were minimal in the area… but his mission was not full extermination. No, he was only here for one target and one target only. The few who dared to walk the streets in the night backed away from him, keeping Ehud as far away from them as possible.

A thin dark red coat complimented his hair nicely, the white waistcoat and black undershirt beneath it neat and free of wrinkles as he moved. He didn't seem to feel the cold or the drizzle around him. A pair of crisp black pants and two brown leather dress shoes completed the look. Behind him, his scarf trailed behind him, the vibrant crimson cloth the most noticeable feature of him. Ehud allowed himself a faint smile at the memory of when it first earned him the nickname 'Blood Lightning' among the others.

But that wasn't important. What _was _important was the man stalking down the road, purpose in his eyes. He carried himself differently from the others – a revolting mix of arrogance and suicidal self-confidence.

Ehud's eyes narrowed. This is his target.

_He is a criminal of the worst kind – rape, murder, arson, and grand larceny. All in just three months and yet he walks free._

The man bumped his shoulder roughly as he passed by. Neither side dared to react to the other. They both continued walking.

_His name is unimportant. You will be able to tell him apart from everyone else simply from the way he walks._

Ehud certainly had. He heard the footsteps behind him, felt his heat fading away. As soon as he decided it was safe he abruptly turned and moved into a side alley. The hobos and drug dealers cast him wary looks, but otherwise ignored him. Wise.

_Leave no traces of his death. The others will handle his records. According to everything, he will have never existed._

The man reached the dead end – but kept walking, planting one foot on the wall, then the other, marching up in vehement denial of gravity. Barely visible under his dark red coat, the lightning scar shimmered, faint light arcing across his back. Reaching the roof, he moved from vertical to horizontal without missing a beat. His coat shifted, revealing dozens and dozens of pockets in it, some containing vials of deadly poison. Others held pistols, others yet held lighters. A few even had coils of rope. But the one on his right side, carefully belted into place, was the most important.

A wickedly sharp carbon fibre dagger, the blade a carefully forged five-wave pattern. Invisible to metal detectors. Ehud could take it anywhere, anytime, and no one would be any the wiser. Twelve full inches of razor-sharp death, never dulling, always killing. It was his favourite and most expertly used weapon – and that was saying something.

_I'm counting on you, Ehud. Show no mercy._

He raced along the rooftops, not caring about the potential danger carried. It was always better to travel high up – no one ever expects an attack from above. Eyes squinting through the rain, he caught the familiar sounds of his target's footsteps, already committed to memory. Slowing to his usual march, he came to a stop at the edge of the roof of a six-story building. Sure enough, there was his target, trudging along without a care in the world.

Soon, he wouldn't have a breath in his body, either.

Ehud reached into his coat and drew the knife with his left hand, flipping it into a backhand grip. Then, he slid down the wall, easily sliding down six floors in a heartbeat and blocking his target's path.

"What the fuck!?" His target stumbled away, tripping over his own feet. Ehud drank in the fear like a wolf and its prey. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Ehud remained silent, spinning his knife in hand. Gritting his teeth, his target brandished his own knife and lunged forward with a roar. Easily sliding around the man's wild swipe, Ehud let the knife fall from his left hand to his right, instead using his left hand to slam his attacker's arm against the wall, jolting the knife from his grip. He plucked it out of the air before it could hit the ground and slashed, opening up a swathing cut on the criminal's face.

He howled in agony and reeled like a wounded animal. Fitting for a man like him. Ehud swept forward and, knife changing hands again, pinned his target to the wall and laid the knife against his throat. The criminal looked up at him. "W-wait! Please don't! I-I'll give you money, something, anything!"

_Kill him._

The knife moved.

Ehud stepped back as his target convulsed, falling to the ground and dying within seconds. Glancing around, he nodded to himself, satisfied that none had seen or heard them. He turned his gaze to the corpse. The rain would wash away the blood, but the body itself would need to be disposed of. Looking around once again, he knelt down and began slowly cutting apart the man's body, lifting each piece barehanded and placing it in a trash bag. When he was done, he simply tossed it into a dumpster. No need for anything flashier. He shook the dagger off a few times, blood splattering to the floor. Ehud frowned and brought out a handkerchief, wiping off the remaining blood before tossing that away too – no point in staining a perfectly good waistcoat, especially when bloodstains were so hard to wash out of the white cloth…

Sure enough, as soon as he was done and had put away his knife, his phone began to ring. Ehud reached into his pants pocket and brought out his phone. "Yes?"

_"You completed your mission?" _Even through the many layers of voice distortion, the speaker was most definitely a female.

"Of course." Ehud's tone was irritated. Why would he _not _have finished such an easy mission so quickly?

_"Excellent. Your pay has already been transferred to your account as agreed."_

"Thank you. Are there any other missions?"

A strange sound crackled through the phone – rustling papers, distorted by the same voice cloaking device. _"No – nothing official. However, I personally have a proposition for you."_

Ehud raised an eyebrow, though she didn't see it. "Oh?"

_"This is… a very different mission."_

"… Elaborate."

_"You'll be sent to the Sanctuary in Japan. There, I want you to kill two certain individuals there. _No one else._"_

The assassin's eyes narrowed. "You realize that I will not take you up on this if–"

_"There is a paycheck of ten billion yen waiting for you."_

"You are speaking of _Gensokyo._" It wasn't a question. "I refuse."

_"I'm not taking no for an answer."_

Ehud halted. His master almost _never_ did that. "… Where do I go?"

_"To the agreed rendezvous point. I'll send you to Gensokyo from there." _As Ehud began to move, she continued to speak. _"You must realize that the land has changed. Do you remember the spell card rules?"_

"Yes."

_"They're gone."_

He paused. "What?"

_"Exactly what it sounds like. The successor gap youkai has overstepped her _own _boundaries for a change and destroyed the spell card rules. There is a war brewing. And… two certain people there are stoking my ire."_

Whenever she said that, it usually meant 'someone's playing merry hell with the natural order'. Ehud muttered, "Continue."

_"Youkai eat humans. Humans kill youkai. Your targets are ones who think they should… _co-exist._"_

He made a sound of disgust.

_"I thought the same thing. I tried to put a stop to it centuries ago, but _He _wouldn't have any of it. Now, however, I want you to infiltrate Gensokyo and kill the two of them. Use any means necessary."_

"_Any_ means?" The assassin hesitated.

_"I mean it, Ehud. Do not fail me."_

_Click._

The assassin growled softly under his breath. Once again, his master refused to reveal any critical details until he was already underway with his mission. Even so, he moved to his destination.

At first glance, it was an ordinary brick wall. However, after casting a furtive look around to make sure nobody was watching, he stepped forward – _through _the wall and into a darkened room. As he stood there, it lit up with a brilliant neon green glow. Wisely, he closed his eyes before it blinded him and waited for it to fade away. When it did, he opened his eyes again.

It was night. He could see thousands of stars twinkling above him. The crescent moon continued its lazy journey across the night sky. Around him were trees. So very many trees.

"Come out," he called into the darkness. "I know you're there… _Death Dealer._"

The sound of footsteps met his ears. There she was, the lady of the hour.

Dressed in a simple green dress, with long black hair flowing behind her and a simplistic but elegant mask hiding her face from view; it was the Wildcard.

"Hello again, Ehud." Her accent was unclear; European, perhaps? "Welcome to Gensokyo."

"I don't have time for this." The assassin cut straight to the chase. "Who are my targets?"

Wildcard chuckled, a low, menacing sound. "I think it would be more fun to simply not tell you this time. However, I can give you a clue; look for the high priestess and the youkai of the void."

"Youkai…" Ehud turned his eyes to the moon. "Those kinds of targets again?"

The masked woman sighed. "At the very least, this won't be a solo mission."

That was new. Ehud pointed this out, adding, "Why is that?"

"New land, new rules. His blood is… special."

Ehud nodded. "Sounds fun."

His employer rolled her eyes. "Just remember that there are no spell card rules. This might work in your favour or against it."

"How so?"

Wildcard followed his gaze towards the sky. "Just remember that many of the beings in this realm are supernatural entities. As powerful as you are… you're still human." She glanced over at the assassin, the sword at her side clinking softly. "Don't die, Ehud."

He smirked. Coming from someone like Wildcard, that might as well have been a love confession, regardless of the cold look in her eyes. "Touching."

"I mean it." Wildcard's tone was dead serious. "There's a reason I christened you Ehud instead of another. You are known as the Silent Perfect Killer. Live up to your name." She sighed. "If you know your mission, then I must be on my way."

"Wait," Ehud said. She stopped. "Clarify… one last time."

For several seconds, neither of them moved. Then she turned to face him, crazed mirth visible in her kaleidoscope eyes.

_"Do everything you must to find the high priestess and the ones she loves. Kill her. Kill him. **Kill them all."**_

With those chilling words, she left him. A brief smile came to him. "If this ends badly, don't blame me."

Hands in his pockets, he slams a foot against a tree, easily walking up its surface like he did the wall. Perfectly balanced on the branches, he narrowed his eyes as he looked around. If he could find any trace of civilization…

_There!_

Smoke atop the mountain. A closer look told him it definitely wasn't a volcano. And where there's smoke, there's fire. And where there's fire…

**– TOUHOU –**

_He was l__ying in the ruins of a shattered cathedral. Slumped against the wall was a silent body, dark red stains slowly collecting beneath it. He wasn't able to move his body… why was everything so cold?_

_The stained-glass windows were broken, glass shards digging at his body. Above him, the figure of Christ wept on the cross, a crown of thorns digging into his head. Funny, that's how he felt. Trapped. Made to suffer for someone else's crimes. The agony of it all was enough to make any men beg for death. He reached out, a quivering hand covered in his own blood shakily extending to the one who was supposed to save them…_

_And then _She_ was there._

_With the unfurling of a dark green cloak, _She_ knelt at his side, a white mask hiding her features from him. The only visible part of her face was her eyes… _kaleidoscope_ eyes._

_He struggled to rasp out a sentence, thick dust stinging his throat. "Who… are…?"_

_Those eyes glimmered, constantly shifting through countless colours. _She_ hesitated, as if trying to decide on what to say. "I am… a wild card."_

_As he tried to speak again, all that came out was a death rattle; he was near his end. "Urk… gah…"_

_A flicker of emotion went through her eyes. Pity? She muttered, "Tell me; boy… do you want to live?"_

_A shaky gasp was all he could muster._

_"No matter what price?"_

_His eyes met the forlorn blue of the figure above them. He didn't save him, He didn't save _them._ If this woman could…_

_"I'm waiting."_

_He rasped again, the dust choking him to a slow, painful death. "Yes…"_

_The masked woman's eyes turned, shifting from their multicoloured appearance to a single uniform colour; deep red._

**"… Then it begins."**

_Her hand extended, the palm glowing with a radiant light…_

_Pain._

_Pain like nothing he had ever felt, and likely never would. The feeling of bones snapping and readjusting, his insides boiling, a feeling like a sharp spike being hammered through his skull, pure agony crackling down his spine…_

_And over the ringing of his own ears, he heard it._

_Laughter._

**– TOUHOU –**

"GAH!"

He shot upright out of his bed, gasping for breath. As his racing heart gradually slowed again, he still gasped for air, as if that strangling hand was still at his neck. Eyes shot through with fear, he slowly pawed at the base of his neck, just above his shoulder. The rough, sandpaper-esque feeling was all he needed to remember.

"Right… right." He drew his hand away, revealing the horribly mangled scar underneath. A scabby purple patch of skin was visible near the back of his neck and seemed to go all across his back, disappearing underneath his shirt as he got up. "Alright, Julian, get it together, man." Splashing some water on his face in his apartment's washroom, he smiled shakily into the mirror. "Just another mission, same as always. Don't flip."

A quick shower and breakfast followed, each quiet noise echoing in the silent rooms. Holding a sandwich between his teeth, Julian Meliss put on his usual business suit – had to look good for the meeting, after all. Once he finished running a comb through his blond hair, he locked the door behind him and took a quick elevator trip to the bottom. When the elevator dinged, he saw a few familiar faces already waiting for him at the door.

"Julian." The policeman there nodded to him, an American accent in his speech. Graying hair and thin-rimmed spectacles helped him give off an aura of friendliness, but everyone present knew that was quite deceptive. "We've been waiting."

"Gordon," said Julian. He looked around quickly, doing a quick head count. Six, including himself. It was him, Gordon, those two twins, and the new guy. "Lewis, how have you been faring?"

The ex-soldier shot him a death glare. "Just because I've seen war doesn't mean I can't still dole out some justice." The salt-and-pepper streaks of gray throughout his dark brown hair attested to that. "So why'd you make us come all the way from the good ol' US of A?"

Julian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You should've already known. The more recent terrorist attack? We evacuated Times Square and got the bombs out before people got killed, yes, but we tracked our culprits to the Loyhrs Mansion, here in Scotland. It's a matter of international security now – why do you think we brought back a former agent for this?"

Lewis Dawson scowled, but said nothing.

"Now come on. Our guide is waiting for us, and from what I've heard, she's very fussy…"

As they hopped in their cars and drove to what remained of the Loyhrs Mansion, Natalie turned to Julian. "Excuse me, but just who is our guide?"

"Um…" The blonde tapped his head in thought as he tried to recall it. "She's from Japan, I think. Her name was something like… oh, right!" He snapped his fingers as the name came back to him.

"Yumemi Okazaki."

**– TOUHOU –**

**... As always, kindly leave a review if you liked it or simply want to give advice. Praise reviews welcome, constructive reviews welcome, criticism reviews welcome, flame reviews... well, if you bring up a good point, then it's welcome. Fire away, my friends!**


	2. Dread Puppet

**Weeeelcome back, ladies and gentlemen! BWI is now underway! Well, not actually because I don't get to really have fun until a couple of chapters, but still. It's happening, folks.**

**Sadly, unlike last time, there will not be a gigantic author's note. Instead, I would like to state that one more OC submission has been introduced in this chapter. This may or may not be the final OC to be accepted. I promise all of you that your OCs have been terrific to work with; it is simply that, well, our writing style doesn't mesh very well with it. Sorry. :(**

**But don't worry! In the future, they might still show up! Probably not, though, so please don't get your hopes too high...**

**– TOUHOU –**

Julian knocked on the doorway of the Loyhrs Mansion. "Professor Okazaki?"

The scientist inside gave a start as her name was called. "Ah! The European division, I presume?"

"I am, at least," said Julian as he offered a hand to Yumemi.

"A much smaller force than I expected," noted Yumemi as they shook hands. Her light British accent belied the university she had learned English at. "What happened?"

"Culprit was last seen at the Necropolis in Glasgow – a handful of us were dispatched there as well," said Gordon. "We have officers the world over trying to hunt down these terrorists."

"They're from New York," added the blonde man. "Gordon, you wanna introduce them?"

"Chief Officer Gordon Jackson." The officer nodded politely to the professor. "These two are Natalie and Natasha Calvski – twin sisters. As for him–"

"Lewis T. Dawson," said the aged veteran. Dressed in a black t-shirt, thickset camo jeans and combat boots, he certainly looked the part. "Once a soldier, once an agent, once retired, currently being dragged here against my will." His grumbling elicited a few chuckles from his company.

Yumemi, however, did not seem very amused. "You were fifteen minutes late! I expected you to be here at eight _sharp_ and no later!"

"Sorry." Julian covered up his irritation as quickly as possible. "Traffic was thicker than we expected."

"You should have given yourself leeway to account for it," she sniffed indignantly. Tugging at her thick red jacket, she turned back to the dilapidated house. "But I digress. More importantly, why am I here?"

"The two biggest culprits for our case," Julian began, "are Darius Loyhrs and Karin Muyoka. We needed a network of connections to bring the hammer down, seeing as they've been leading us around in circles. And hey; each of our national defenses wanted an investigation. Why not bundle them all together?"

"Makes sense…" Yumemi muttered absentmindedly as she took a closer look at a pair of closed doors. Just underneath it, some sort of half-rotted juice was creeping out. "I got the blueprints for the mansion from the architects last week," she said aloud as she opened the door. "Miss Calvski – um, both of you – head up the stairs, see if you can find anything. Mister Dawson, check the scaffolding."

The ex-soldier looked up. "Come again?"

"A couple of the doors around here just lead to empty space," Yumemi explained. "The mansion was never really finished; we might be able to find something." As the three split up on their separate paths, the scientist turned back to the two remaining workers with her. "This should be the kitchen – but we should probably stay on our toes." She snapped her fingers at Gordon. "Flashlight."

"Do you see anything?" He asked her as he complied.

The scientist flipped the handheld torch on and panned it around the room. The others watched as her eyebrows slowly disappeared into her hairline. "This… well, this is… something."

"What is it?" Julian pressed.

"There isn't anything in here too dangerous." Yumemi glanced around the room again. "J-just take a look for yourself."

The others followed her as she stepped into the room, each grabbing their own lights and looking around.

Julian sniffed as a strange scent hit his nose. "Is this… blueberry pie?"

"And it's everywhere…" Gordon ran a finger along the wall before hastily wiping it off on his clothes. "Urgh."

A knock at the door made them all turn. Julian raised an eyebrow at Gordon. "Did you ask for someone else?"

The officer shook his head.

"Professor?"

Yumemi scraped the pulp off the wall into a small vial before pocketing it. She said, "Actually, yes – I was starting to wonder if he would come. Answer the door, could you?" Not waiting for an answer, she dove deeper into the unlit kitchen. "Mister Jackson, over here, but be careful; there's a lot of half-rotten food on the – _Waugh!"_

_Splat._

"… Floor."

**– TOUHOU –**

Julian opened the door. "Hello?"

"Greetings," said the visitor. "I am Geppetto Weiss."

"Hello, Mr… Weiss…" The blonde ran a quick eye over his guest's attire. A well-kept navy blue tuxedo with similarly coloured dress pants, along with mud-spattered shoes and a long, flowing dark blue mantle and cloak – rather incongruent with his visit. A black umbrella was tilted over his shoulder, the silver material matching his hair. Despite the odd colour, Geppetto certainly didn't look very old. Forty, forty-five tops? "I'm sorry, but… have we met before?"

"Hmm…" Geppetto scratched his chin in thought. "I can't say we have, no."

"Huh. Well, what brings you here?"

"I was asked by a… colleague, shall we say?" He looked at the sky, as if gauging whether or not the light rain was worth putting away his umbrella. He did so anyways before turning back to Julian, a smile on his face. "So, may I come in or would you prefer to leave me out in the rain? I assure you I am no vampire."

A flicker of doubt passed Julian's face, but he gestured for him to come in anyways. Unnoticed by the blonde, Geppetto winced as he stepped through the door. Brushing it off, the newcomer quickly swept down the hallway in long strides, almost homing in on Yumemi's position.

In the darkened kitchen, Gordon continued sweeping his light around as Yumemi tapped away at her laptop at the single still-standing table. The officer turned and said, "Professor, do you have any results?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid," she said softly. Closing the laptop, she tucked it away under her arm and got up. "It will likely take me some fair amount of time to get a solid analysis. Have you any appointments in the near future?"

"We were planning to investigate the disaster at the Glasgow Necropolis with the others. Why?"

"You might want to cancel your plans for the next few weeks," a smooth voice swiftly cut in. The two of them whipped around to see Geppetto framed in the door. He raised a hand in greeting and brought it around in a sweeping bow. "You may call me Geppetto Weiss. Sir; ma'am?"

"Officer Gordon Jackson," he said as he shook his hand.

"Yumemi Okazaki." She reached out to shake hands. Instead, he easily slid his hand under hers, brushing his lips over it.

"The pleasure is mine," said Geppetto as he straightened. "Here on behalf of the International Enforcement Agency. Was, ah, a man named Lewis Dawson here earlier?"

The professor gave him an odd look. "You – er, yes. He should still be in the building."

Geppetto nodded slowly. "Very well. In that case, I–"

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

He looked down and checked his watch. "Blast! My meeting… curse the traffic here." Sighing, he shot a smile in the professor's direction. A flick of his hand sent a small card in the same direction. "Well, tell Mister Dawson that Sir Weiss was looking for him. We shall meet again shortly, my friends."

And with that, he made his exit.

Yumemi blinked, snapping out of her stupor. "Hey – what? Come back here!" She made to follow him, but Geppetto was long gone by the time she reached the mansion's gates, a sleek Mercedes peeling down the road. A sharp breath as she spoke; "Officer Gordon?"

"Yes, professor?"

"Do you know what just happened?"

"Um… no, professor."

"… I don't either."

"Well," sighed Yumemi, "I guess we should at least see Lewis about this."

Lewis was not happy about it.

"No way," he deadpanned when he heard the news. "No. _Fucking._ Way. The CEO of the IEA coming down here just to say _hi_? How the f–"

"Cool it, cool it," Gordon chastisted him.

Lewis muttered some choice words under his breath before continuing. "So he wants something from you guys for the next month or so and told you to tell me? No, he couldn't possibly expect us to…"

"Lewis, what's going on?" Gordon asked.

"He's staging a party early next week," explained the ex-soldier. "A really big bash, all sorts of bigwigs running around and whatnot. Seems like he wants us there too, for whatever reason. Knowing him, he won't tell us anything important until then."

"Sounds interesting." Despite her words, Yumemi was seemingly unamused. If nothing else, she was decidedly more interested in simply closing this case. "It seems we should be getting ready."

"In that case, we need to know exactly when this party is. Lewis?"

"No idea, officer. However, there should be an easy way to find out…"

Unnoticed by the others, Julian was watching their conversation from the hallway. He frowned as he recalled the strange Geppetto. No… he _definitely_ saw the man before. But where?

Something was wrong.

"Geppetto… Weiss…"

**– TOUHOU –**

"Cirno-san, status?"

"Fairly stable, Hakurei-san. Eientei isn't pushing, but we'd best mount an offensive soon before they can strike out." The ice fairy shuffled her papers as she continued the report. "Flan-san reports that the Chireiden units are currently being withheld in Eientei as well under personal supervision from Eirin herself. If we strike, it might be best to stage a large diversion at the main gates and send in our stealth team to spring them. Furthermore…" Putting away her papers, she gestured at the colossal map of Gensokyo that dominated the wall of the scarlet room. "We have quite a few outliers."

Reimu looked at the countless ice pins embedded in the map. She didn't understand the slightest thing about them, but asked anyway. "What about them?"

"Word of mouth is that Byakuren was travelling in Hell with someone," explained Cirno. She tapped a finger on the two pins by the mouth of the Youkai Mountain. "It seems they were looking for something, but we don't quite know what it was. One way or another, seeing as her temple has been standing by during this incident, it's probably nothing much. As for Yuuka…" Four pins were stuck in the small sunflower that signified the Garden of the Sun. "Well, it seems Eirin still has the area locked down. However, our scouts saw two interesting figures there."

"Who?" Cirno now had Reimu's attention.

"Mima and Marisa were seen with Yuuka recently. We're not sure what's going on, but we've got a sharp eye out for them." Her face darkened as she gestured to the Human Village, several melted pins staining the map and making the ink run somewhat. "More importantly, we've figured out what happened here two weeks ago."

"What happened?"

"Remember the Outsider?"

"Darius-kun?"

"The very same." Cirno waited for the miko to make the connection.

Her eyes widened. "What? No!"

"Yes," Cirno muttered. "I'm not quite sure what happened, but it seems our crazy gunslinger has tapped into some wellspring of power he'd been hiding this whole time. He's torn apart the Human Village and most likely killed the other Outsider who came with him."

Reimu scowled. "This is… new."

"Go figure. We've had some disastrous run-ins with Outsiders before, but I've never seen one do… _this._"

The miko withheld her comments on Cirno's former attention span.

"Nonetheless, it seems he's left the area – and possibly Gensokyo as a whole. Even so, we need to keep an eye out for him." Cirno cast a look at Reimu. "If you're dead set on going to Makai, be careful. From what I've gathered, he's not pulling punches. And if he doesn't, we can't either."

She nodded. "I haven't exactly died during any previous incident, and I'm not going to start now." Grabbing her gohei from where it had been propped up by the map, she glanced at the map again. "Are there any forces I might run into en route?"

"Some other fairies, maybe a wild youkai or two… but no Lunar forces as far as I can tell. Don't get yourself killed, alright?"

"I'll see what I can do," chuckled Reimu.

Her trip to Makai in fact had nothing to speak of. Just as Cirno predicted, there'd been the typical burst of fairies that always crawled out during incidents. Thankfully, the few youkai that were around scattered when they caught sight of her – smart.

As for opening the collapsed gate… that'd be a _lot_ tougher.

The gateway to Makai was a cave, simply put. A very deep cave that went into another dimension, but still a cave. And now that Makai had been destroyed (or whatever had happened to it), the entrance caved in and filled with countless tons of rocks and dirt, Reimu feared that the demon dimension might never be accessed ever again. Even so, it was worth a shot, right?

"Steady… steady…" Reimu pasted several charms onto the boulders at the mouth of the cave. They glowed with a soft orange light as she let go. Once she felt it was thoroughly saturated with the volatile seals, she backed away and hid in a tree for good measure. Pulling out one more charm, she flicked it into the air and braced herself.

_BOOM!_

"… Whoops."

Yeah, it was definitely not supposed to be that loud. Odds are, everyone from here to the moon heard that one. And soon, they'd probably be converging on her.

Wait, no, scratch that. Judging from the howls and shrieks in the distance – and rapidly approaching – they already were.

The miko turned back to the cave. She'd blasted a fair chunk out – she'd have to keep moving quickly if she didn't want to either have it collapse again or be mauled by slightly all the youkai. As she got moving, she muttered something under her breath.

"Sometimes, I hate my job."

**– TOUHOU –**

Darius waited in the darkened room quietly. He'd lost a great deal of weight in a short amount of time – a predictable effect of a body that needed sustenance. His longcoat was now gone, skeletally thin arms bared against the cold air. His cheeks were sunken in, the sharp outlines of his bones standing out under the thin muscle. A flat expression on his face as he remained standing. He didn't know how long he'd remained like this. He didn't really care.

"Oi, gunslinger."

He glanced at the door, his gaunt bloodshot eyes meeting a gold one.

"I've got a new mission for you," said Goukei. Nudging Darius in the shoulder, he frowned as it failed to elicit a reaction. "I'll be honest with ya, gunslinger, I feel like I'm talking to a corpse right now."

Still no response.

"Hmph. Well, you gotta pull your weight, buddy. Y'know, Wildcard isn't exactly the nicest boss."

He went back to staring at the wall.

"Honestly? I preferred the other you." The ex-shinigami waved a nonchalant hand as he left the room. "Well, come out soon, alright? We've got a pretty big job for you, and I don't want you screwing up, alright?" Goukei made to close the door, but hesitated. He looked up at the silent gunslinger, a somber expression on his face. "I don't even know if you're in there, buddy. Even if _something's_ hearing me, is it really you?"

Not even this earned him a response.

"Really, what happened to you? Just overnight, your personality just… withered, I dunno. Geez, you don't do jack shit anymore besides go where we tell you and do what we tell you. Sure, its fun at first, but it gets boring real quick, y'know?"

Judging from his silence, Darius did not know.

"Smile."

Darius complied, a blatantly fake smile on his face.

"Genuinely."

Now it looked genuine.

"Stop."

He went back to normal.

"Hit your head on a wall."

He did it exactly once.

"Shank me."

There was now a knife in Goukei's rib cage.

"See? I'm getting precisely zero entertainment out of watching you degrade yourself because you're not even there; you're just a puppet. Where'd you go?" Goukei sighed sadly. "Guess there's no one in the driver's seat anymore… You're really just a blank slate after all."

Without another word, he closed the door behind him.

**– TOUHOU –**

"Weiss, the papers are by the door."

"Yes, thank you, Roberto. I'll get to them shortly." Geppetto wiped a bead of sweat off his brow as he took a quick breather. In front of him, countless stacks of papers were laid out across the table. Even as the primary spearhead of the IEA, even Geppetto had to chip in occasionally.

His intercom buzzed. "Mr. Geppetto, there is someone who wants to speak with you."

"In a moment," he said in a rather harassed tone. "Put them on hold."

"Sir, it's him."

Geppetto's hands suddenly stopped. Sighing, he began putting away his papers and filing them away. "Alright. Put… put him through."

The intercom briefly went quiet, the only sound coming out ambient static. Then; "Geppetto Weiss? It's Fukitsunashi."

"Charmed." The aged president furrowed his brow. "How is our friend doing?"

"Recovering, but not much," reported Goukei. "He responds to commands, but acts like he's in stasis if no one tells him to do anything."

Geppetto nodded to himself. "The poor boy… I don't understand why you helped her in the first place."

"I didn't have a choice." Goukei now sounded just as irritated. "You know that. In fact, I – _shit!"_

"Goukei? Goukei, are you alright?"

"Not much longer, Weiss. The Wildcard's still got me under her thumb. Bust me out soon, please?"

"I will," promised Geppetto. "But for now…"

"I know, I know."

"One last thing, by the way."

"Yeah?"

"We're having a party – a gathering – well, whatever you want to call it – in next Tuesday. Interested?"

"Definitely."

"Just make sure not to hospitalize anyone this time, alright?"

"Haha… I'll try. Thanks, Weiss."

"The pleasure was all mine," he assured him.

The intercom buzzed one last time and went silent.

Geppetto's eyes fell on the files he'd put away previously. "Hmm…" Reaching over, he began searching through them, running a finger over their tags before settling on one of them. Pulling it out of the stack, he flipped it open and began rapidly flipping through the pages inside. Eventually coming to a stop, he held up a handful of stapled papers. Pressing a finger against the button on the intercom, he spoke. "Ma'am?"

"Yes, Mr. Geppetto?"

"Contact… Clarence Arancione. I have a favour to ask of him."

"Understood."

Lifting his finger, the aged president took another look at the paper. Looking back was a well-tanned young man, looking as if he was fresh out of his college. Glossy black hair poked out from under a dark orange baseball cap along with a grey hoodie and black track pants. His eyes were hidden from view by a pair of reflective sunglasses – he had stubbornly refused to take them off at the photo shoot.

"Sorry about this," muttered Geppetto, "but we need your services one last time."

Then he looked up, a rare flash of anger flitting across his features. There, hanging over the doorway, a constant reminder of what he had spent so long waging war against. His constant nemesis.

The Wildcard's mask.


	3. Dancing on the Strings

**Yes, I'm still alive. Just chipping away at this damn story. Sorry, it's almost midnight right now... I'll have to reply to reviews another time.**

**As always, if you enjoyed the story, please R&amp;R...**

**– TOUHOU –**

"Damn. That is… _damn._"

"That's one way of putting it," muttered Julian.

"Seriously though, look at this thing!" Lewis gestured to the massive skyscraper towering above them. "Gah. Well, might as well get started… Remember, be polite. Some of these people are really, _really_ important. A'ight?"

"Gotcha," confirmed Julian.

"Alright," Yumemi nodded.

Gordon remained silent, but nodded as well.

"Okay." The former agent rubbed his hands together. "Well, let's join the party!" Throwing the doors open, he strode into the lobby with the other three trailing after him. Walking up to the receptionist, he said, "Hello, sir. We –"

"Lewis Dawson, Julian Meliss, Yumemi Okazaki, Gordon Jackson," the receptionist rattled off without missing a beat. Before Lewis could follow up, he said, "Yes, we've been waiting for you." He peered over the top of his computer at them. "It seems you fit the evening's dress code."

Lewis was simply wearing a formal soldier's uniform, Julian and Gordon both wearing similar business suits. Yumemi, a vest and red dress and mantle.

"You are allowed on floors one through thirty, but floors thirty-one and above are off-limits. Restaurant is on floor two, ballroom on floor five. Mister Weiss is on floor twenty three. Enjoy your stay."

_Ding!_

The elevator behind his desk slid open, admitting them entry. Somewhat confused, the four-part band simply stepped in and hit the button labelled "23".

Geppetto turned as the elevator opened. A wide smile broke out. "Ah excuse me for a moment…" Easily extracting himself from his previous cluster of politicians and what-have-you, he rushed over to them. "Lewis! Great to see you could come!"

"We did what we had to." The ex-soldier gave him a firm handshake and a quick grin. In a lower tone; "Briefing room?"

"Soon," assured Geppetto. Returning to proper loudness, he said, "But why bother worrying so much? We are here to enjoy ourselves, no?"

"Well, yeah…?"

"It'll be fine." Geppetto gently pushed away Lewis towards the bar along the wall before greeting his companions. "Greetings. I'm afraid we didn't quite get a chance to properly interact last time. There was a great deal of work I had to attend to."

"No problem at all," said Yumemi. Flagging down a waiter wandering the room and grabbing a drink, she then said, "More importantly, while the party is quite great – thank you for the invitation, by the way – when will we be able to continue work on the case?"

"All work and no play, you kids…" The aged president chuckled. "Relax for a little bit. I'll find you in an hour's time. Until then, why not enjoy our services? We have an excellent orchestra today, and my dear brother Lyon has been…"

As Geppetto led the professor away, Gordon muttered something about keeping an eye on Lewis before disappearing. Before he knew it, Julian was alone.

"Well, I guess if I must as well see who else is here…" Julian too wandered off, drink in hand as he idly struck up conversation to while away the time. To his surprise, a lot of the people attending weren't actually even corporate leaders or anything similar – instead, many of them seemed just like ordinary people.

"So, it's Niji Heika, right?" The blonde wanted to confirm yet again.

"That's me." The dark blue-haired Japanese teen nodded with a small smile. In addition to the usual crisp suit, there was a peculiar shoulder piece with an odd insignia on it.

"And what brought you here?"

"Mister Geppetto over there has some sort of project going on," shrugged Niji. "Something about a recent terrorist act, I'm not too sure. But if it keeps food on the table – why not?"

Julian raised an eyebrow at the odd terminology, but brushed it off. "Interesting."

"What about you?"

"Me? I was told to come here as part of a case we've been trying to solve. Have you heard of the recent Muyoka/Loyhrs double act?"

The blue-haired teen laughed. "Who hasn't heard of them? It's been all over the news."

"Yes, well, I'm told the International Enforcement Agency was trying to unite the three countries they were last seen in so as to pool information and apprehend them. Hence…" Julian waved a hand around them.

"Go figure," muttered Niji. "His name is Darius Loyhrs, right?"

"And Karin Muyoka, yes. Why?"

Niji furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure. I think I might have heard that name somewhere else… back in Japan…"

Julian gave him a concerned look. "Niji? Are you alright?"

He waved a dismissive hand. "Yes. It's nothing." Looking around, he shook his head in expaseration. "Crud. I lost track of where Master Takao went… well, best of luck to you, Mr. Meliss."

"Thank you."

Julian watched Niji saunter off back into the crowd, easily blending in. The only way to pick him out now was either his vibrant hair (which attracted more than a few looks from others) or the shoulder guard he wore. As the blonde watched, he failed to notice a heavy sigh start up next to him.

"And there goes Niji. Always running into trouble, not that I'm one to speak."

The blonde turned his head, cocking an eyebrow again. His new catch was definitely one that stood out in the formal and polite crowd. Muddy black sweat pants, a battered grey hoodie and spinning an orange baseball cap in his hands. "Excuse me, are you talking to me?"

"Yeah," said the strange man. He seemed to be slightly older than the blue-haired teen, eyes hidden from view by reflective sunglasses. The only formal part of his attire was the poorly attached black tie. "You looked interesting. Besides, all friends start as strangers, right?"

"Um, right…" Julian felt an odd sense of disbelief as he was pulled off to the bar.

His friend (?) pushed a filled glass into his hands. "The name's Clarence Arancione, but call me Clare."

"Julian. Julian Meliss." He took a small sip of his wine.

Clare nodded. "Well met. You're one of the agents working on the recent bombing runs, right?"

"One of many." Julian scowled. "Keeping ahead of the press has been a nightmare."

Clare smiled dryly. "I'd imagine so. At least it might not be a problem for a while, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Old Man Geppetto never randomly inducts others into the IEA," Clare explained. "Odds are, there's something he wants from you, kinda like how all of us are here."

"Really, now… in that case, why'd he ask for you? You don't exactly look like you fit in with the crowd." Julian stuttered as he realized the implications of his words.

"It's fine, it's fine," Clare assured him. "Happened a couple years back, here in Scotland, actually. I… got myself into a pinch, I guess. Bad odds lined up against me, but ol' Geppetto got me out scot-free. In exchange, he wanted my help and the occasional use of my… connections, you could say."

Julian ran an eye over Clare's attire.

Sure… _connections…_

"One way or another, I'm sure he wants to join forces in the terrorist hunt. I mean, the IEA's already backing your project, right? Just a hop, skip, and a leap away."

"Well, I guess you're right," said Julian.

A spell of silence drifted over them. Eventually, Clare broke it, pointing to a roulette table as he did. "So, Julian… you like gambling?"

"I'm not the best, trust me." Even so, he got up and followed Clare. As he did, something caught his eye. There, on the other side of the bar. That former agent… Lewis something-or-other. Unfortunately, Lewis was already walking away, Clare pulling him in the other direction.

Oh, well. He could just find Lewis later.

**– TOUHOU –**

Lewis roughly pulled Geppetto aside. The aged president laughed uneasily. "Hey, Lewis, what's wrong? The band has just started my favourite tango, and Miss Okazaki has agreed to step on the dance fl–"

"Enough beating around the bush," hissed the ex-soldier. "You and I both know what's _really_ going on with this case. But are you really going to drag these others into it?"

The laughter melted off of Geppetto's face. "Dawson…"

"Look, Weiss, they can handle this on their own. They always do. We don't have to intervene."

The look on Geppetto's face hardened. "No. My brother suffered enough the last time I stood by in silence, and I won't do it again."

"You're not giving Gensokyo enough credit," seethed Lewis. "I–"

"And you haven't seen what happened to the last Outsider who got sucked into the madness," retorted Geppetto. "Do I need to remind you of _your_ crash landing?"

Lewis flinched as if he had been physically struck.

"Precisely. And to top it off…" Geppetto led Lewis away from the party into the elevator, heading to the thirty-fifth floor. "We've managed to recover the most recent target."

"Look, I don't care if you have a goddamned dragon here," growled Lewis. "Haven't you _seen_ Julian Meliss? That Lichtenberg scar can't possibly be natural! And only one person marks people like that. Only _Wildcard!"_

Geppetto's eyes narrowed. When he spoke, it was with a cold, curt tongue. "What?"

"He's impossible to read. He has no Tarot Identify, no latent power, no magic, no _anything!_ Why did Wildcard pick him out of all people? Why would he be the one to replace the head of the Four!?"

"I can't pretend to understand her," rumbled Geppetto, "but I can see that Julian has a noble fate ahead of him."

"Yeah. One that'll drag the world down to lift him up!"

"Enough." The word was softly spoken, but with a clear cutting edge to it that brooked no argument. "My decision remains final, Dawson. Remember that."

Clearly, Lewis wouldn't have any of it. "Really? And what about that girl you've been chatting up? For the love of God, you could practically be her father if she wasn't from a different dimension!"

Geppetto coughed.

The doors slid open, revealing one more heavily bolted gate behind it. Lewis visibly blanched. "What…? I've never felt this kind of aura before… Geppetto, what the _fuck_ is behind that gate?"

The aged president simply reached up to the lever beside the door and slammed it down. "Maybe you should see for yourself."

The gate slid open with a maddening creak, dust pouring out. Lewis and Geppetto stepped into the darkness inside, the former gagging as his senses told him that something was in there with him. Something _wrong._ It reeked of death – a stench he knew all too well. And underneath even that, a heavy rumble, like the breath of a slumbering titan.

"This… Geppetto, what is this!?" The darkness around them wasn't just darkness – it was as if they'd stepped into the heart of a black hole! Like a pressure constantly pushing in from everywhere and nowhere.

Geppetto locked eyes with him, an anguished look on his face. "This is what our enemy is willing to do – and has already done. Look." He pointed deeper into the shadows. Just barely visible was a thin, sickly figure so still it might have been a statue. In fact, Lewis had half a mind to believe it was a statue.

"W-who is this?" Lewis asked as he warily stepped closer to it.

It opened its eyes, bloodshot brown locking onto his. A raspy breath filled the room.

"This is who you were looking for. This is Darius Loyhrs."

**– TOUHOU –**

Reimu blinked. _Well, this is new,_ she thought.

Makai was… gone? It was a surreal sight, one she wasn't entirely sure how to process – assuming she _could_ process it. The expanse of sky above had cracked like broken glass, hairline fractures distorting it. In some places, the sky had seemingly fallen, a dark nothingness behind it. Similar pockets of non-existence were scattered through the air and on the ground. Everywhere she looked had a bleached appearance, as if seeing the world through a filter.

Well, except for them.

Slumped over against a broken pillar was a familiar shape. Specifically one with black raven wings and a red orb in her chest. Aside from her dusty appearance and some small cuts on her face, she seemed to be in fine condition. But just beside her was a much smaller figure, almost childlike in appearance as she lay curled up under Utsuho's wing.

_This is an interesting sight,_ thought Reimu. Procuring a new charm she'd commissioned from the kappa some weeks back, she held the brittle paper under Futo's nose before cracking it. A sharp smell struck her nose, making her flinch, but the miko ignored it as she waited for a response from the shikaisen.

Futo's nose twitched as she frowned in her sleep. "Wh… wha… _whuargh!"_

_SMACK!_

Reimu reeled as she held her own nose between her hands as Futo leapt to her feet, jolting Utsuho awake at the same time. "_"Mikonotababbawhazzakingdomcome –_ huh?"The shikaisen's dazed eyes fell on Reimu. "… Miko?"

"Yes," said Reimu as she pulled Okuu to her feet. "I – _ow…!"_ Jumping back as the hell raven's hand scorched hers, Reimu continued. "This is Makai, right? What happened?"

"I doth know not. Verily, Miko-sama had entered this land on a mission, but told us not of her intentions. My dear miko, I beseech thee, wouldst thou do me the honour of assisting me in reuniting with Miko-dono? She–"

"Speak Japanese, Futo-san."

Futo took a deep breath. When she spoke, it was slow and overly cautious. "Yea, I – Y-yes. Miko-dono came here in hopes of… of securing a new artifact. One of great power. I grew concerned and sought her out before… before meeting Utsuho-san. But then…"

It was almost as bad as it was before. Thankfully, Okuu spoke up. "I came here with a nice girl who liked dolls! But then she disappeared without telling me where she was going. So Futo-chan helped me and now we're looking for her again!"

"That explains _why_ you're here, but not what caused this." Reimu waved a hand around at their destroyed surroundings. The she sniffed the air. "Odd… you two were gone for quite a while. How is it that you two are…?"

"Prithee, dost something trouble thee, Reimu-san?"

Reimu snapped out of it. "No, it's nothing. Now, do you have any idea where Miko-don – Miko-san might be?"

"Ah!" Futo's eyes lit up. "Yes! Miko-dono had last spoketh of 'Hokkai'!" A pause. "Sadly, I fail to know of its whereabouts."

_Hokkai… that'd certainly make sense. Plus, the area's locked down with an incredible magic barrier. It's possible that it survived the collapse of Makai…_

"Um, hello?" Okuu tapped Reimu's forehead. "Whatcha thinking about?"

The miko screamed in agony as Okuu's blazing hot hands lit her hair ablaze. "UTSUHO, YOU IDIOT!"

"Unyuu~!"

Unseen by the three of them, another duo was watching them from a nearby certain crater. Ducking down as they walked by, one of them sighed quietly. The other turned, an expression of concern on his face. "Are you still holding up fine?"

"As well as I can," said Aileen Loyhrs to her second son. "Darius can only deal so much of a number on me."

"Well, alright." Despite his words, Edmund still looked uneasy. "Look here, Mum–"

"I'm _fine,_ Edmund."

He flinched. "Okay, okay, whatever you say…"

"They're moving." Unsheathing one of the two katanas she'd brought with her from the Loyhrs mansion, she beckoned Edmund to follow her. Creeping along the edge of the crater, she asked him, "Did you find any information on Darius?"

He shook his head. "Not much. Everyone seems to be preparing for war or something – all I could squeeze out of them was that he was last seen fighting in the village before it disappeared."

"Strange…" Aile coughed again, but this time with a much thicker hacking sound beneath it. Waving aside Edmund's worries before it could start, she growled, "Don't start. It's fine."

As she trekked on ahead of him, Edmund let a look of anger flit across his face. "Darius, you slimy bastard," he snarled under his breath as he watched his mother try to soldier on. "Wherever you are, I hope you're happy."


	4. Unraveling his Web

**IT'S HAPPENING YOOOOO**

**Well, anyways, welcome back to BWI. This chapter is more focused on the OC half of the protagonist set. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!**

**Hackery: Well, it's nice to hear you like it. Hey, Wildcard is built around the idea of a "mask", isn't she? *rimshot* Lewis isn't actually a _policeman,_ but I'll get to that another time in the future.**

**Tez7: Well, Muse and I (but mostly Muse). As for the price Darius is paying, it's a bit of a given considering how the previous story ended. **

**To Ziden115: Aw, no! You're making the gunslinger very sad :(**

**Haha, well, not really, he can't give much of a crap right now. As for the Wildcard... well, she's got a pretty big rival in Geppetto now. You'll see where that one's going... eventually.**

**Mage-0f-Rage: Once I get Reimu and co. out of Makai, we'll get to them, definitely. Don't worry! I'm still working... kinda.**

**And for everyone else, as always; if you enjoy the story, leave a review! It helps to improve the story and you'll get at least an honourable mention during the next chapter.**

**– TOUHOU –**

Lewis couldn't believe his eyes. "You – you're harboring a _terrorist,_ Weiss! Do you realize how much shit we'll be in if–"

"No one needs know of this," Geppetto assured him. "So long as you do not breathe a word of it, I promise you that Darius will do you do harm. As he is, he is harmless."

"How can you be so sure?" Lewis demanded.

"His mind is… absent, I suppose you could say." At Lewis' confused expression, the aged president stepped towards the gunslinger. "Here, let me show you."

"Wait! Geppetto, don't–"

Geppetto ignored him, instead brushing his fingertips over Darius' forehead. Then, in a soft, quiet voice: "Wake up, gunslinger."

The gunslinger's eyes flickered. The brown shifted, bleeding briefly into bloody crimson before sinking into a flat grey. "… Yes."

"Oh my God." Lewis backed away, a hand on his holster – before he remembered he came to this party unarmed. "Shit!"

"Its _fine,_" Geppetto repeated, "but you're putting him on edge. I can't promise you he will remain stable if agitated. His mind is in a volatile state, shall we say?" Turning away from a spluttering Lewis, he met Darius' blank eyes. "Now, gunslinger. Where is Darius Loyhrs?"

"… I am he."

"No." Geppetto smiled. "I think you're a false persona. Where is the _real_ Loyhrs?"

Darius was silent for a long, long time. "… Dream dimension. The Field of Memorials."

Lewis spoke up. "Weiss, did he just say… did he just say _dream dimension?"_

He nodded. "He did. In that case, who is in control, gunslinger?"

The gunslinger did not respond to the question.

"Did you hear me?"

"… Yes."

"Will you answer the question?"

"No."

Geppetto sighed quietly. "If so, then how can we enter the dream dimension?"

Darius stirred. Strings of black hair fell into his face, but he ignored them. "… Okazaki. Lyon. Death of the puppet…"

"The hell is he saying?" Lewis asked.

"I don't know," said Geppetto. Laying a single finger against Darius' forehead again, he stated, "Sleep." As the gunslinger fell silent, he turned back to Lewis, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Now, I'm sure I can rely on you to speak not a word of this, _right?_ After all…" He turned over his palm, a black needle shining between his fingers.

Lewis gulped. "Yeah, yeah. You can… you can count on me."

And just like that, the foreboding aura he had felt from Geppetto vanished as a wide smile broke out on his face once again. "Excellent! In that case, why don't we get back to the party? I've shown you around plenty enough, haven't I? I should entertain my guests after all!"

The two of them walked off, Lewis looking rather queasy while Geppetto seemed jolly as ever. Behind them, Darius watched their backs. He flexed a hand, an orb of light forming and disappearing. He flexed the other, this time generating darkness. A sharp pain bit into the back of his wrists. He turned his head, barely visible black needles running the length of his arms. They burned red for the briefest moment, and melted. Darius blinked as he tried summoning his powers again. They responded in kind.

A sudden force yanked him to his feet. Two fingers brushed his forehead again as a voice hissed, "Awaken."

Darius looked up as a small light appeared, illuminating his new visitor's features. "… Yes."

He looked to be a younger version of Geppetto, by maybe ten years. The same silver hair, but over his sharp suit was a well-tailored and freshly repaired black longcoat. Lyon Weiss dangled a small shape before his eyes. The tiny replica of the gunslinger bobbed in his hand as he spoke. "Darius, Damion. Speak to me."

The gunslinger spasmed, a sharp hiss escaping him. When he raised his head, one eye had turned to deep crimson, the other the same brown. "What… where…?"

Lyon raised a hand, a black needle held carefully in his hands. The point slowly swung down until it was aimed directly between the eyes. "This one might hurt."

"Wait, what are–?"

His hand fell.

"Time to get moving, Darius."

**– TOUHOU –**

Julian watched as Geppetto and Lewis emerged from the elevator. It seemed as if the two were having a quiet but vehement argument. Surreptitiously hiding his face from view as they passed by him, he caught a brief snippet of their conversation.

"Look, Weiss, I don't give a damn what you plan with him, but you can't send these innocents into Gensokyo."

"I don't want this any more than you do, Lewis. But sometimes, sacrifices have to be made – something you should be familiar with. I had to either save a future ascendant or save his squad, I couldn't do either–"

"_Never again,_ Weiss. Never again."

They wandered away back to the ballroom. In their focus against each other, they completely failed to notice the blonde had been eavesdropping.

Clare whistled lowly next to him. "Damn. That… well, that's why I said to keep an eye on them."

Julian straightened properly as the roulette table came to a stop once more. He'd lost this round. Darn it. "What do you mean?"

"Just 'cause Old Man Geppetto hired us doesn't necessarily mean we trust him." Clare stuttered briefly as he corrected himself. "I-I mean, he's a great guy and all, but the IEA… well, let's just say I didn't get in with the most trustworthy of reasons."

"If that's the case," muttered Julian, "then why are you telling a law enforcement agent about it?"

The buzz of the crowd around them seemed to fade to a low murmur. Clare turned in his seat to properly face Julian as he lowered his wraparound shades. His eyes were an unnatural colour, the light catching in his irises and reflecting around them – like amber. "Because you're not like the other agents I've met," Clare said quietly. "For instance, you're the only one I've met with the Wildcard's mark."

Julian paled. Across his back, leading from shoulder to opposite hip, a strange sensation ran across it, a pins and needles prickling. A rush of primal fear shot through him. Sitting opposite to him wasn't a human. It was something… else. Something unnatural. Something _other._ "Who… who are you?"

His eyes glimmered through his dark hair as he smiled, exposing his teeth. No, not teeth.

_Fangs._

"You'll see soon enough," he whispered.

Time resumed its normal flow. The crowd's buzz returned. Clare turned back to the roulette like nothing had ever happened. "But really, keep an eye on Geppetto, huh? He's real nice, but some roses have pretty sharp thorns."

Julian narrowed his eyes as he turned his attention away from Clare. Now that he mentioned it, there was a thick air around them. Like something was pulling their strings, marionettes dancing on a stage for some cruel audience…

"I need to get some air." Getting up abruptly, the blonde agent marched away from the table, bluntly ignoring Clare's protests. Heading for the elevator, he absentmindedly slipped in and went for floor thirty-five without thinking. Only when a woman cleared her throat behind him did he snap out of his reverie.

"Mister Meliss," started Yumemi. "Is something troubling you?"

"I – no." Julian looked out the glass wall of the elevator, watching the cityscape below them. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. So why are you here?"

"I'm interested in seeing what the rest of this building has to offer," shrugged the professor. Julian noted that even at the party, she had her laptop bag slung over her shoulder. "Probably won't go too far, though. Curiosity did kill the cat, after all."

"Good thing we're not cats," Julian chuckled.

_Ding!_

The elevator opened, admitting him to the floor. Strangely, Yumemi followed suit as he stepped out. "Hey, wait. Are you following me?"

"Maybe."

_That's a yes,_ Julian groaned internally. But aloud; "Well, alright. I guess I don't mind."

"Thank you." Yumemi stepped past him towards the colossal sealed gate before them – one he hadn't even noticed. "You know, there's been an odd feeling I've been getting around here. A… hunch, you could say."

He raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"This is going to sound ridiculous, but…" Yumemi sighed as she turned back to him, a hand resting on the gate. "Julian Meliss… do you believe in magic?"

His eyes widened as a memory sprung, unbidden, to the forefront of his mind –

_Blood. Blood everywhere –_

_"M-Mother? Father? W… Why won't you respond?"_

_The Lord Christ, watching sadly from upon the cross –_

_A masked face, offering him life –_

_Searing pain, a strangling hand choking the life out of him just as soon as it was given back –_

"No." Julian staggered as a wave of dizziness and nausea struck him. Leaning on the railing for support, he spat out again, "No!"

"Julian!" And Yumemi was there, balancing him to make sure he didn't topple over the edge. "What's wrong!? Are you alright?"

He pushed away as he fought to control his racing heart once more. "Yeah… yeah. But… you're a scientist, Professor Okazaki. How could you possibly believe in… in _magic?_"

"Not magic like you might believe." Yumemi flinched as the possibility of another fall on Julian's part reared its head, but he seemed stable now. "I've studied the potential for an outside force affecting our lives. Outside gravity, outside magnetism, outside dark matter – hell, outside quantum physics, even!" She waved a hand at the steel gates before them. "Julian, I am a scientist leading the fields of expanding our knowledge of the universe. But too many of my tests and experiments have ended in failure. My hypotheses, all wrong. There is another force at work in our universe. And behind this gate… I don't know what's in there. But I can make an educated guess."

Julian seemed to have calmed down by now. Even so, the mottled scar on his back stung as he spoke. "And that guess is…?"

"An as-of-yet unexplained force. One that stands outside all other forces." An intensive light flickered to life in her eyes. _"Magic."_ She reached for the lever by the gates. Running a hand over the access panel, a small device blipped as her hand crossed over it. Punching in the access key, she glanced back at the stricken Julian. "This is my newest experiment, agent. And now, I'll see whether my work will come to fruition."

She pulled the lever.

The gates hummed with the hiss of hydraulics as they activated, a yawning maw of darkness exposing itself within. A sudden bang behind them made them whip around and see some of the last people they wanted to see.

"Well, fuck me," Clare said rather succinctly.

"H-how did you get in here?" Lewis looked significantly more panicked. "T-t-the guards must be getting lazy. I–"

But more than either of his companions, Geppetto looked ready to rip them a new one. "Blast! Always interfering, each and every last one of you!" A series of thin black shapes flew into the air, light reflecting off of them as they spun. "No more from you, Agent Julian!"

"_Argh!_" Julian staggered backwards as a row of needles ran up his leg. Falling to the ground heavily, he cursed in pain. "What… Geppetto, what the _fuck_ is going on!?"

"This is something that cannot be let into the public eye," Geppetto snarled lowly. Holding a single needle out before him, it extended into a much larger shape, a red gemstone set into the tip – a _spear._ "I am sorry, but this is one secret you will be taking to your grave."

Beside him, Lewis spun a single finger in the air, small gales forming around his hand. Catching the look in Julian's eyes, he shrugged apologetically. "Just following orders, Julian. Don't hate me."

The blonde agent slowly got back on his feet and tore out the tiny needles. They left no marks behind as he removed them, almost as if they were acupuncture needles. "How… how!? There's no way this should be possible!"

"It's magic," said Yumemi. Reaching into her vest, a tiny metallic cube appeared in her palm before expanding into a complex-looking handgun. "I'll explain everything later – if we get out alive."

"Something that I won't let happen," growled Geppetto. His hand snapped back as he made to lunge – but a crushing force closed vice-like around his wrist. "What the…?"

Clare stood easily behind him, fingers digging into the aged president's wrist. Behind his sunglasses, shimmering amber light sparked to life. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that just yet, buddy."

"Nngh… no!" Geppetto struggled in the strange man's grip. "Lewis! _Now!"_

Clare yelled in pain as a sweeping gust tore at him, flinging him away from Geppetto. Smashing into the wall, he stood slowly under the night sky. Behind a broken lens, his amber eyes smoldered, teeth – no, _fangs_ – bared as he readied his claws.

Yumemi's eyes widened. "Werewolf…!"

"Wait, Clarence is a – _wuagh!"_ A hand closed around his collar and yanked him deeper into the dark chamber.

"Like I said," repeated the professor, "I'll explain later if we get out alive."

The aged president began to run after them. "Lewis! Don't you dare let them get aw – _argh!"_

With a guttural roar, Clarence skidded to a halt in front of them on all fours in a feral crouch. His outline was beginning to grow hazy, glimpses of a far more primal form breaking through. _"Not a step closer."_

Vibrant green light coalesced around Lewis' hand as he pointed it at the werewolf. The light flared, extending along the length of his arm until he was gripping a sword in reverse stance. Crossing it over his chest in a defensive stance, he glanced at Geppetto. "Shall we?"

"We have no other alternative." Geppetto hefted the spear with no more effort than he would have to lift a toothpick and flung it.

Julian nearly tripped as resurgent pain crackled up his thigh, an explosion's shockwave rushing past him as the three combatants clashed in the entrance of the chamber. The pain was rapidly overwhelming him – and not just the needles Geppetto had landed. His scar was blazing with an incredible agony, as if trying to slow him. _No… have to… keep moving!_

One foot in front of the other as he continued down this dark hallway. There, at the very end of the tunnel! Wait a second… that… isn't that…!?

Darius was curled up in the middle of the chamber, countless black needles forming intricate circles around him. A thick, palpable aura hung off of him as he laid unmoving, eyes hidden from view by his matted black hair. Julian slowed to a walk, Yumemi following suit. They slowly approached the still figure on the floor, and as they did, something caught their ear. The sounds of combat had long faded, instead replaced by this crushing silence.

Drifting just under the pressing white noise, however, they could just barely make out something.

_Whispers…?_

Julian took a wary step closer. The black needles shifted as his foot landed near them, almost bending away from him. "Yumemi, is this who I think it is?"

"I believe so." The strange pistol in Yumemi's hand was still levelled at his head. Now that they had a chance to calm down, Julian could see the odd design of it. It was made of thick, blocky steel, red light shifting in the cracks along the chamber. _Definitely_ not a normal gun. "This seems to be… Loyhrs. But why would he be here?"

"This must be the secret Geppetto was trying to hide… So what should we do with him? We can't exactly leave him here, right?"

"We'll see." Yumemi narrowed her eyes as she examined the layout of the needles around him. "It might just be possible…"

"Yumemi, what are you going on about now?"

"Hmm, no… the seals would probably prevent me from being able to access the hypervessel. But then could I possibly… hmm, I wonder…"

_"Yumemi!"_

"Eek!" The professor jumped as Julian snapped her out of her reverie. "Oh, erm, uh, right. Right. Theoretically, we should be able to enter this man's 'alternate persona', so to speak. With the hyperspace vessel I used to enter this timeline, manipulating these black runes to our ends might make it possible for us to ease the load that would otherwise crash my vessel. You see, Chiyuri is still working on repairs on the full model, but the portable version I am carrying right now is still capable of travelling beyond the fields of one dimension and into another. By harnessing the latent potential of dark matter, I–"

"Yumemi, I can't speak science."

She sighed. "Teleport into his mind."

"How? You can't possibly expect me to believe that!"

"I don't need you to believe," snapped Yumemi, "I just need you to go with it." Thrusting a hand into the air, she drew a large circle in the air while chanting furiously under her breath. A red line appeared in wake of her hand as it traced a circle. Completing the arc, she pulled her hand back, red runes rapidly inscribing themselves around its circumference. They glowed briefly – and vanished, instead a white line appearing in its wake. It expanded, ripping itself open to reveal… _something._

Inside the rip, there was some sort of dessicated wasteland. A smoking ruin of a house loomed over the otherwise flat horizon. Julian couldn't believe his eyes. "Yumemi, I apologize, but… what the fucking hell?"

"I know, my magic is choppy. I only learned by copying others, you know. Personally, I consider it decent for a Muggle."

"Oh, my f – that's not the point!"

"Speaking of points…" Yumemi and Julian flinched as a much louder explosion reverberated throughout the IEA. _Someone_ was going to notice that real soon.

_"Meliss… and… OKAZAKIIIIII!"_

"If we don't move, we'll be filled with them!" Yumemi roughly pushed Julian towards the rip. "Go, go, go!" Ingoring his protests, she shoved him into the rift and turned around, raising her pistol just as Geppetto levelled his spear at her face. For a brief moment, they stood stock-still in face of each other's weapons.

"Miss Okazaki…" Geppetto snarled. He looked horribly mangled, terrifyingly deep gashes brutally slashed across his face - the blood was still flowing as his face continued to pale. "I brought you… to this timeline… and this is how you repay me!?"

"Mister Weiss," Yumemi began. "I am always in your debt. You and I both know that. But with all due respect… go _fuck_ yourself."

_BANG!_

As the aged president fell back, Yumemi hit the floor. His black spear lashed out just barely over her face, a lock of red hair blasted away by it. Grabbing the limp body of Darius, she gave Geppetto a mock-salute before jumping into the portal as well.

Geppetto smiled grimly as he fell back onto the floor. Blood ran over one eye, sealing it shut as it congealed. Just barely visible in the darkness, Lyon was there, kneeling by his side. "Brother…"

"It's time, isn't it?"

He nodded slowly, a trickle of red running from his mouth. "Make me proud, Lyon…"

"I will."

A smile came to Geppetto's face, small but genuine. "L-Lyon… Thank you."

His eyes closed. In Lyon's arms, he could feel the steady beat of his brother's heart fade… and stop.

"No need," Lyon finally said. Tapping a finger against Geppetto's forehead, he slowly drew a black needle from his skull, admiring the sharpness of the tip. "After all…" He pressed the tip lightly against his temple – and with a hiss of pain, plunged.

"We're just _getting **started."**_


	5. Stellar Swordsman

**Hey, you know what I'd bet is the _last_ thing you'd expect to come out right now? Another fucking chapter ALREADY.**

**But it's happening. People, it's happening. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is a God, and his name is Muse. For violently screaming at me through Skype to HURRY UP AND FUCKING FINISH THAT GODDAMN CHAPTER OR I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL FUCKING CUT YOU YOU FILTHY PIECE OF SH**

**Ziden115: You'll see just what happens. Unlike BWD's "wavering" between clear-cut light and dark, I'm thinking of leaving Darius about as ambiguous as they get. Oh, and trust me. Geppetto's not dead. Ignore all the irrefutable proof that he died. All of it. _All of it._**

**Tez7: Wow, I actually completely forgot that was a thing... I haven't played that in forever. Maybe I should. Anyways, I decided to let this particular scuffle end in a tie between you two. Sorry.**

**By the way, part of my massive delay in the past several weeks was due to rediscovering Minecraft (GODDAMN IT) and, of course, the Touhou shooters. Yukari, y u do dis to me? ;'**

**And just before we get started, I'd like to put in a new feature: the Author's Pick! Simply put, the AP will just be whatever song I happened to be listening to the most during the writing of the chapter. For this one, it'll be:**

**[Okami - The Sun Rises]**

**Holy shit, I love that soaring music. But just as a note, this is only my personal pick - it has no reflection on the actual chapter content and might not even fit in with it, but it might help you see the chapters in a slightly different light.**

**But enough out of me. As always, if you enjoyed BWI so far, leave a review to help improve on it!**

**So, without further ado, we dive back into the Boundless Universe!**

**– TOUHOU –**

_Bang!_

Lewis ran out onto the rooftop balcony of the International Enforcement Agency's headquarters. Around him, powerful winds lashed at his scarf, threatening to whip him clean over the rails to a painful splattering on the ground below. He ran to the edge of the balcony before turning, a hand pressed firmly against the slash in his shoulder "You're persistent…!"

_"Damn straight I am."_ Clarence skidded through the door, claws tearing at the tiled floor beneath. If nothing else, the werewolf was looking significantly worse for wear now that Lewis was through with him.

"Sorry, buddy, but I can't let anyone get in the way of my mission." Lewis spun his wind blade in hand, pointing the tip at Clarence. "Not even the Wild West's Wolf."

_"We'll see about that… Bane of the Blitzkrieg."_ Clare lunged; claws spread and ready to gut Lewis.

The soldier ducked under Clare's belly, ramming his wind sword deep into the werewolf's stomach. An earsplitting howl as Clarence reeled, making Lewis flinch. That brief second was all he needed to remove the magic blade and return to the fray. A slash across the face – no, Lewis rolled just as the hit made contact, a gash opening across his cheek.

"You can try all you want," panted Lewis as he felt the blood running across his face, "but your pack is dead, Clarence. You think you can beat me?"

_"If I can kill the old man, I can kill you."_

"Ha!" The soldier easily slammed a foot against the ground, expertly flipping over Clarence as he charged. Grabbing the werewolf by the collar, Clare's figure shimmered, the cloth in his grip briefly revealing itself as black fur. "I might be staging this campaign for my brothers – something I'm sure you're familiar with, wolf – but I'm not letting _anyone_ stand in my path!"

With a rough push, he slammed Clare's face _hard_ into the ground, tiles cracking beneath them. A burst of wind sent Lewis flipping cleanly through the air – and over the railing into free-fall.

Clarence got up quickly, a look of disbelief on his face. He leaned over the balcony –

_WHAM!_

_"Argh!"_ The werewolf fell back as the furious wind slashed at him, forcing him away as Lewis returned.

Lewis laughed as he watched the werewolf struggle to reach him. "Don't even bother!" he yelled over the roar of the helicopter. "You werewolves are worth jack shit in _my_ element!"

Clare made to leap once more at the helicopter – but froze as a sudden weightlessness came across him. A bout of nausea came to him, as if he was going to pass out…

The soldier sneered as he held up a single finger again, winds spinning around it. "Air control, Clarence! I hope you like high altitudes!"

The werewolf collapsed, glaring with one baleful eye up at the soldier. _"Damn… you…!"_

"Oh, but don't worry." The helicopter leaned away from the building and began to lift towards the clouds. "I'll see you in that Japanese hellhole, filthy animal!"

And just like that, he was gone, whisked away into the night sky.

Clarence breathed out slowly as air pressure returned to normal – well, as normal as it was atop a skyscraper like this. Far below, his ears began to pick up the faint sound of police sirens wailing. As he spoke, his feral figure wavered before fading away entirely. "Oh, now you show up…"

Within mere minutes, he found himself being hauled roughly to his feet and handcuffed. As they led him away, he barely even heard their words as he muttered a curse under his breath.

"Fucking pest control. General Reid, I am going to fucking cut you when I see you…"

**– TOUHOU –**

Byakuren looked around slowly, taking in her surroundings. The wide, spacious caverns, the blazing hot rivers of flame. That colossal gash carved almost half a mile deep into the earth, and far off in the distance, the pulsing of nuclear reaction.

"Onii-san, why are we in Former Hell?"

"You learn interesting things in the afterlife," said Myouren. He stretched out his arms, as if they had grown stiff trying to use the portal. "For one, have you heard of the Astral Knight?"

She shook her head. "Only legends."

"Come now, I thought you would know about this. You've around for so long!"

"Hey, I can't know everything!"

He laughed and gently ribbed his older sister. "It's fine, just riling you up."

She huffed.

"Well…" The smile on his face faded as he began walking, the elder monk falling into line beside him. "The Astral Knight… it's tough to separate fact from fiction. The dead don't talk, they only whisper… But if we can get him to stand by us, he could be a valuable asset."

"What do you mean? I made sure your tem–"

"Our temple now," Myouren corrected her.

"_Our_ temple… stays neutral in this conflict. There's no reason for anyone to attack – it's just pointless!" Byakuren raised an eyebrow as a thought came to her. "For that matter, how do you know there was a war anyways?"

"Like I said, the dead whisper. As for why we need more defenses… well, who said there were only two players in this game? The Outsiders are going to start playing their hands as well, and very soon. So we need to hurry."

"… In that case, who is the Astral Knight?"

Myouren began to jog. "Stories vary, but a few things are consistent; he was a left-handed samurai of almost apocryphal skill, said to be the greatest warrior the world has ever known and direct attendant to the Wisdom King Acalanatha. A man of such great favour with the oni many mistook him to one of them. And…"

He stopped dead, Byakuren doing the same. This was where Former Hell gave way to the true Hell – and there, barely visible as a speck on the horizon of magma, a lake of frozen ice. And on that ice, a ruined, desolate shrine.

"Said to have been killed with a heated spike through the skull."

A chill ran down Byakuren's spine. "Wait a second. That sounds like…"

Myouren nodded. "You're on the right track. We're here for the swordsman so detached and power-hungry he would massacre a nation for strength – and gladly be banished to Hell for it. _That…"_ He pointed towards the shrine. Just barely visible, a figure seemed to be encased waist-deep in ice. "… Is Konngara."

He turned away and strode towards the sealed samurai. Byakuren, in her shock, barely even registered. _We came down here for…!?_

He rushed towards the encased figure, each step bringing him closer to the Silent Shrine. As he ran, he threw out a hand, gold light flowing from it. The magic runes etched themselves into the ice around Konngara, illuminating his features. A red robe covered his body, vibrant white highlights running along the trim, with grey sleeves visible on his arms as they hung limply at his sides. Dark purple hair framed his surprisingly youthful face as he slumbered. Jammed point-first into the ground was a sword larger than would seem necessary – an odachi. And, etched into the hilt:

_Muramasa_

"Get ready!" Myouren barked over the increasing hum of the spell. Byakuren panicked briefly as she realized she hadn't even drawn her scroll or vajra yet. By then, the enigmatic monk had already turned back to Konngara, hands clenched tight as he flung them to the side.

The runes turned blood red as they converged on the swordsman. Lines of red energy rushed along his shape, glowing briefly – and then fading away, absorbed into his body. For the first time in god alone knows how long, the Astral Knight stirred.

His eyes opened first, an emotionless gaze staring down at the ice. Two red eyes flicked up, glancing briefly between Myouren and Byakuren. Raising his hands in front of his face, he began to flex his fingers slowly, one at a time. Raising one hand, he held it out towards his odachi, the palm glowing with red energy. Before him, the sword began to glow the same colour, ethereal red light pervading the lake of ice.

Byakuren backed away. "Onii-san, we need to move!"

"I know, I know!" Despite that, Myouren didn't move an inch, feet firmly planted as he continued casting spells. With each wave of the hand and chant on his lips, Konngara continued to move more and more. The sword pulsed, a wave of red tracing jagged lines across the ice – and _shattered_ it.

_BOOM!_

Tiny fragments of ice were thrown into the air as it ruptured beneath them, throwing the two monks to the ground. Untouched by the carnage, Konngara rose to his full height – very nearly an impressive six feet. Thick black smog was collecting around his feet rather than replacing his legs. Striding forward, he reached down with his left hand and tore the Muramasa free of the rubble, admiring the edge of the blade.

_Still sharp after all these years._

Alternating trails of red and black smoke gushed from the blade as he held it out at his side. Turning to the two monks, he finally acknowledged their existence proper. "… Were you the ones who freed me?" His voice was oddly melodic for such a menacing figure.

Myouren stepped forward. "Yes. I am Myouren Hijiri, and this is–"

"Byakuren Hijiri," Konngara cut her off before she could speak. "Your brother is not the only one privy to death whispers." At his side, the Muramasa glowed faintly once more, a wisp of red smoke rising from the blade. "Hmm… Muramasa is starved. It _has_ been a while." He slowly brought the tip up at them –

"Wait!" The elder monk cried.

The samurai froze. He raised a single eyebrow.

"We… we're not here to fight you."

He resumed the swing, pointing the tip of the blade directly into Byakuren's face. An odachi's tip. _With one hand. _"Then why did you come?"

Byakuren raised a single hand and gently pushed down the tip of the sword. "We were hoping that you could help us. You see, a war has begun in Gensokyo, and our temple–" A whooshing sound as the blade swung back up silenced her, the very tip hovering just an inch from her throat.

"Who do you think I am?" Konngara demanded. "I'll admit, your offer of war is… interesting. Muramasa has not tasted blood in centuries. But I've little interest in following someone else's orders…"

"But–"

_Fwumph._

_"Unless_ they're handed down by a woman who can fight for herself," finished Konngara from atop the Silent Shrine. His sword was now leaned across his shoulders as he smirked. "So what will it be?"

"I don't see why we need fight!" repeated Byakuren. "There is no point in it! Why would a man like you be so interested in war?"

Konngara's eye twitched. "I follow the path of the blade. My sword is my life. If you want me, then you'll have to earn me."

_Wait… What?_

"Um, you realize we didn't come here for you in _that_ way…?"

"Of course I did. After all, we're both women."

"… Hold on, you're a woman?"

In that moment, you could have heard not only a dropping pin, but also the sound of it rolling away.

Finally, Myouren spoke up. "Oh dear…"

**– TOUHOU –**

_"So you're here."_

That was the first thing Julian heard. The second thing was Yumemi smashing into the ground beside him. "Holy – Yumemi! Are you alright?"

"Ow… yes. Yes, I'll be fine."

_"I was starting to think I'd be alone forever."_

"Well, if you say so…" Stepping back, Julian took a better look at their surroundings. The rough patchwork-esque layout of the land… and didn't he know that house? "Yumemi, where are we?"

The professor got up, stowing away her handgun. Dusting off her skirt and capelet, she said, "Well, Julian – welcome to the dream dimension!"

"This doesn't make any sense." Julian began a leisurely (?) stroll down the land, drinking in the details. "How could a world like this even exist?"

_"It is a world forged by our dreams and memories, irregardless of whether they are good or bad."_

Julian's head snapped up. "Who said that!?"

_"In here."_

The wreckage of the mansion shifted, an unseen force easily swatting the boards away. And there, sitting in the ruins, was the gunslinger himself. _"Yo."_

Julian leapt away. "Loyhrs! You – huh?"

Darius lifted one of his arms, showing off the bloodstained chains that ran through his wrists and ankles. He shrugged off his longcoat as best he could, revealing several more of those same lengths of chains wrapped tightly around his midsection. On the other ends of those same chains, they dug deep into the ground, seemingly unremovable.

"He's harmless." Yumemi confirmed his thoughts as she brushed past him. "Locked down, somehow. But that's not supposed to be possible."

"It is now," muttered Darius. He had a broken air about him, as if something irreplaceable had been torn from him. "Don't bother to break me free."

"And who said we'd be doing that?" Julian was unfazed, and instead recovered quickly from his surprise. This was the one who had come _this_ close to throwing America into a riot. This was the target of a worldwide manhunt the likes of which was last rivalled by Osama fucking bin Laden. This was a _murderer._ "Come on, Yumemi. We need to find a way out of here."

"What?" Yumemi almost seemed offended. "But this man is the only ticket out!"

"Then we'll have to find another way." The blonde agent was dead-set on refusing any help from the gunslinger. "And where's your accomplice?"

Darius looked up at him, an unreadable look in his eyes. "… Huh?"

"Where. Is. Karin. Muyoka."

The gunslinger hung his head, black hair masking his face. "… dead…"

"What was that?"

"I said she's _DEAD, DAMN YOU!"_

Yumemi and Julian flinched at the sudden outburst. "What–?"

"I should never have done that," growled Darius. "And now, we're set on a collision course with our fate… because of one fucking moment of weakness!" He pulled at the chains in fury. _"Raargh!"_

Julian winced. Yumemi looked away.

The chains rattled as his rage cooled. As he spoke, it almost seemed to… _crack._ "Dammit… dammit all…"

_This wasn't some cold, crazed killer._

"Hell, maybe dying in here would mean shutting my body down out there…"

_This was just a confused boy._

Yumemi spoke up. "Darius… Loyhrs?"

The gunslinger barely raised his head, but still responded. "… What?"

"Just… just what did you do that made this happen?"

"Pah!" Darius spat on the ground in front of him. "I made one mistake too many."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I took a fucking deal with the devil and thought I could get away with it."

The professor fell silent.

_Don't pity the man at the bottom of the cliff._

"I thought I was something special." Darius ground his teeth furiously. "I thought I could make something of my life. 'I'm not just a cog in the machine,' I kept telling myself. 'I'm something special!' And I was totally bullshitting myself. Even when… even when I saw my best friend turn on me, I just took it at face value. I never stopped to think that she might not want it, either. Even when I nearly killed my own fucking mother!"

The blonde agent narrowed his eyes. "Loyhrs…"

"And as if that's not enough… that slimy piece of shit Wildcard!"

_Wildcard!_

Synapses fired in Julian's brain, connections instantly forming as the picture became clear.

_Of course. I'm not going to pity a man who falls off the cliff. But…_ His eyes fell on the broken gunslinger.

"That motherfucker told me everything that was going to happen. She _knew!_ And she knew that I'd be weak enough to turn to her, that I wouldn't be able to live up to what I should have been. But now, it's over. It's all over soon…"

_Maybe I can help this one away from the edge of it._

"So what the hell do you want from me anyways?" The gunslinger choked back a sob. "Here to rub salt in the wound. Go on. Go ahead. See if I give two shits."

Julian finally spoke. "Hey, Darius." The gunslinger glanced up. "You should know that we're looking for the murderous terrorist who nearly started riots all over the United States. The one who tried to blow up Times Square. The one who left your mansion in shambles and launched a crusade on the Glasgow Necropolis."

"Well, you've found him," spat Darius. "You wanna kill me? Fine. _Fine._ I don't even care at this point."

"Yes." The blonde agent knelt down to his level. "Yes, I want to kill you. In fact, odds are that not much would make me happier right now than a lead bullet through your brain."

Yumemi's jaw dropped.

"Or rather, a salvo to shoot down the bitch standing right behind you."

"Wait…!" Darius' eyes widened as he looked back up. And behind those eyes, Julian saw a spark of hope. "You…"

Julian nodded. A ghost of a smile danced on his lips. "That's right. I'll bet she's been pulling our strings this whole time. Hell, she might be pulling our strings right now. Think about it! No matter what happened, you can always trace it back to one woman and one woman alone – _Wildcard. _No matter which way you look at it, _Wildcard_ is the lightning rod of it all. And I mean that in more ways than one."

Throwing aside his business suit, Julian turned around, exposing the horrible scar on his back. The dead, almost _rotting_ suffocated flesh in the arrangement of a lightning fractal scar. "You're not alone, Darius. She's a lying, deceitful, conniving bastard – but she's made two enemies too many. In _us._ Trust me."

Darius fell silent as he thought. Bit by bit, Julian could see each and every piece of the puzzle snap together neatly in the gunslinger's mind.

_Checkmate._

"I can tell what you were going to ask of us," Julian said softly. "And while I won't try to sway you from that course, I have to at least ask you to stand by us until Wildcard is silenced. Once this is over… well, I'll let you do as you please. But until then…" He chuckled softly. "Until then, if you die, I am going to drag your sorry ass out of Hell and make you keep on keeping on."

"… You make a good point," Darius finally conceded, "but I can't take you up on that offer."

Julian was flabbergasted. "Oh, _what?_"

"I'd love to fight; I really would, but _come on_, buddy." Darius held up an arm to show the rattling chains. "You think I can do anything like this? And besides…" His face darkened. "That slippery motherfucker is probably banking on it. She probably _wants_ you to spring me so she can channel herself through me and tear you a new one. Don't trust me, pal."

"… Yeah. I guess it would be tough to just snap back just like that." Julian slipped his suit back on. "I'm not forcing you. No one is – except for, well, you know. But still; give it a thought, huh?"

Darius nodded, but his face was still plagued with doubts. "Yeah. I'll… I'll think about it."

Julian smiled. "And that's all I need from you… Darius."

**– TOUHOU –**

**... To squash any rumours before they start, _NO._ Darius is not reformed with a snap of the fingers. If you mix a cup of oil and water, it'll still take time for them to settle again, won't it?**


	6. Blood Red Feast

**Yo! What up, errybody?**

**Yeah, sorry it took us longer to get this chapter out... problems IRL were messing with us. Well, better Nate than Lever.**

**Um, Nate is a snake.**

**Anyways, there's a pretty large A/N here, so you might want to skip the review answers...**

**Tez7: Actually, that joke originates with Meira, a passing samurai who never shows up again after that. I took a few liberties that I'll have to explain next chapter. But hey, that's not really Julian's job to spare his life. There's a good reason both Ehud and Julian share the Lichtenburg mark. Yumemi? Well, I've decided I could let a guy be the one in distress and have a girl come to his aid. It was Muse's idea.**

**MGS4 Sub Scene? I'm so sorry, but I have never seen this scene. All I've seen from MGS4 is the easter egg where Ocelot kisses Snake and the final boss battle. That's it.**

**Ziden115: Other way around, buddy. Cirno got a free ticket because of her fairy immortality, but if I kill another OC (and I will), they're not coming back. In fact, Geppetto is the only one who'll be cheating Komachi this hard. As for Darius... well, I've got a rollercoaster ride of torture lined up for him. I'm a terrible person, I know.**

**raidouXVI: _Did you just say KanColle?_**

**No, it's fine, I actually don't really care much about the Touhou-KanColle rivalry. And don't worry, you didn't come in too late. It actually does rhyme, funnily enough.**

**BokusuKanon: Haha! Don't worry, ol' pal. I'm definitely doing what I can. And you're actually re-reading that thing. Wow. I... _wow._**

**In other news, the Author's Pick for this chapter is:**

**[RD-Sounds - Mad Party]**

**Yeah, RDS in general just has amazing vocals. Also, we're reintroducing the Music Cues starting this chapter. Old readers, you know the drill. New readers, just pull up a YouTube tab and copy/paste whatever's in the [square brackets]. The layout is a short comment (don't copy/paste this), followed by the artist and the song's name. Have fun!**

**– TOUHOU –**

"… Lewis."

The soldier did not respond at first, instead continuing to stare out the window of the helicopter. The sea was so blue today.

"You realize that we're not holding you on this path, right?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I know that."

"If ever it gets too much… well, Geppetto would have wanted you to make your own decisions."

Lewis turned to face Lyon on the other side of the helicopter. "I said, _I know._ But this is my decision. I've already set my own destination, and I'm not going off course for anything."

"They died for you, Lewis. Do you know what'd they say if they saw you like–?"

_"Shut. Up."_

_It had been in Gensokyo, so early in the morning. They had planned for a routine bombing run in Japan, but some_thing_ got in their way en route. He was alone on that godforsaken field, ten guns and helmets marking ten resting places. Not killed by the crash landing of their bomber, now laying ruined at the base of the hill behind him. But murdered in cold, heartless blood._

_So there was a good reason they say war is hell…_

_Rivers and lakes of red washed over the hillside that night – and not all of it was the fire left by the bombs. Not even that had killed them. _She_ did. That disgusting monster. Human-eater. Snatched up Johnson from right beside him, plucked off his head like nipping the bud off a dandelion. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. And then, when he screamed, the darkness._

_Dear Lord in heaven, the darkness. Covering the entire damned hillside in complete utter nothingness, a darkness so deep no light could penetrate it. That high, shrill cackle that wavered in the air around him as she danced on the very edges of their vision. Glimpses of curled claws, a fountain of blood streaming in its wake…_

_Even when they broke free, six-strong, and opened fire, each bullet melded through it like nothing was there. And it returned their fire. Hundreds of spent rounds, but thousands of revenge bullets. Their scorch marks still dotted the hillside. It was just a lone woman, and yet she tore them to shreds like wet paper._

_But they were brave. Good God, they stood their ground right up until their end. They called for reinforcements, but none came – the radio had jammed. They did away with their guns and drew their daggers, but that was even worse – for every cut on her body, another had to die for it._

_And she laughed. She laughed, and laughed, and just kept on laughing._

_Right up until her vocal cords were ripped out._

_And even then, she still tried to, those manic crimson eyes glaring up at him as the bubbling rasp frothed in her throat. Yet, despite his revenge, it was not sated. He wanted more – _needed _more. He had to make them suffer as he was, make them pay for it._

_Japan was going to burn down, and this wretched hive would go to hell with it, even if he had to drag it kicking and screaming with him down there._

"You don't know them as well as I did. You didn't see the life draining from their eyes. But I did, and even if I have to give up my life to do it, I will have that damned Sanctuary burnt to the ground."

"You're taking this too far," Lyon stubbornly said. "Rumia was just a feral youkai – she still is. You can't blame her for doing what's in her nature."

"Then fuck nature," spat Lewis. "I've ground it to dust once, and I can do it again.

"Tell everyone at the base to activate my B-29. This time, I'm bringing my full might crashing down on them." Reaching into his pilot's jacket, he pulled out a small photo. It was him and ten other soldiers, posing for the picture. On the corner, it was dated 1942. "Don't worry guys… I'll be there soon. My flight's almost over, and I won't be spreading my wings anytime soon after."

**– TOUHOU –**

**[Cue Song: xi-on – Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind (Trick Shooter)]**

Konngara closed her eyes and smiled – a move at complete odds with her violent twitch. In her left hand, the Muramasa erupted, tendrils of black and red energy slowly spinning around her form. "How many times do I have to repeat it before people understand? _I am not a male._"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Byakuren hastily backtracked on her words. "I-I didn't mean that! I just thought from the way you moved–"

"So I'm not ladylike enough, is that it?" A vein was throbbing in the samurai's temple. "Really, now…"

Myouren tried to step in before she dug herself any deeper. "Konngara-san, enough! We're not here to fight!"

Sadly, it didn't seem that she noticed him. "Perhaps I should wear more form-fitting clothes in the future. But no matter. I'll just rectify your eyesight by force." She struck–

Byakuren shifted her weight, a gold light springing to life between the two of them. Holding Konngara at bay with the vajra, she tossed her scroll into the air. Flipping the scroll end over end, the monk glanced behind her – and leapt into the air after it. Konngara drew back and prepared to give chase, the Muramasa snapping around to cleave her in half.

A leg lashed out, sweeping her feet out from under her. The Astral Knight fell back as Myouren drew his leg back in and snapped it back out – a powerful straight kick aimed directly for her. Konngara snarled, reached up, and _grabbed_ his foot barely inches from her face. Using it to pull herself to her feet, she used her weight as leverage and dragged Myouren to the ground. Konngara rolled away, grabbing her odachi as she rose. The young monk grinned – and slammed a palm against the ground. A ray of gold light erupted around him, Konngara's Muramasa grinding at the light barrier. It faded away…

Myouren was not there.

The samurai's head shot up as she finally deciphered the quick plan her enemies had devised. Byakuren was there, her scroll readied as the automated spell was cast. _"Good Omen – Nirvana's Cloudy Way in Purple!"_

The spell activated, streams of light and butterfly danmaku filling the air. An endless barrage was sent raining down on Konngara, who barely even flinched. Instead, she stared into the storm, and almost laughed.

Myouren reappeared beside Byakuren in a flash of gold, smoke streaming from his features. His robe was significantly more charred and smoky than it had been previously. "Nee-san, can you give me a warning before you do that next time?"

"Oh! Sorry, I thought you were out of the blast zone…"

"It's alright."

The elder monk snapped her scroll shut and glanced at the smoking crater left by the spell card. "Whoops. I hope she's alright…" As they watched with rapt attention, a faint red figure slowly rose inside the smoke. "Have we fought enough, Konngara-san?"

"Heh…" The samurai stepped out of the smoke. Embedded in her forehead, the metallic spike smoldered faintly. "Spell cards. I haven't seen those since the angry miko came down here." Stabbing the sword into the ground, she rolled her neck and cracked her knuckles. The black and red energy began to spin faster and faster around her. "If you can beat me in single combat, then I kneel to you. Because that means you have done the impossible! Your power…"

Then, tearing the Muramasa out of the ground, she blasted forward. _"IS MINE!"_

_KRENGGG!_

Konngara snarled as her Muramasa was locked against Byakuren's vajra. For the briefest instant, they stood still before separating. Both sides skidded back, but almost immediately leapt back into the play.

Myouren made to rejoin the fight, but Konngara called out, "No!" A burst of strength let her push away the elder monk before slamming the odachi into the ground. Red fountains of energy burst from the ground around them and solidified, sealing Konngara and Byakuren into their arena. The samurai flicked her hair to the side and smiled. "Now, let's try this again."

"One on one," said Konngara. "No outside interruption. Fight until willing defeat."

"Can we not convince you otherwise?" Byakuren had to try at least one more time.

"No."

"I should have figured as much," sighed the monk as she readied her scroll.

The samurai chuckled – and struck, the Muramasa almost instantly on a collision course with Byakuren's neck. She leaned back, the blade swiping over her as she drove her feet into Konngara's gut. With a grunt of expelled air, the Astral Knight backed away, her sword in a defensive stance. Byakuren pressed her advantage, following up with several quick jabs to break her guard.

Konngara stood tall, easily deflecting each hit to the side. Byakuren spun, the golden blade following her movement – and aimed this time for her arm. The samurai winced as the vajra's edge cut into her arm. Leaning away from it, she flicked her odachi upwards – and knocked Byakuren's weapon clean out of her hands. Pulling the sword in quickly, Konngara prepared to run her opponent through with it.

She made contact.

For the briefest instant, the Astral Knight felt a rush of triumph – but that faded quickly as Byakuren sidestepped, turning what should have been impalement into a simple brush cut. The gradient scroll once more wrapped around them and fell into her hand as she declared, _"Heaven Sign – The Brilliance of Mahavairocana!"_

Bypassing the standard incantations by inscribing them within the scroll, Byakuren grabbed the handle of the sword and reeled Konngara in like a fishing line with one hand. Her free hand was slammed against the flat of the Muramasa to stagger her further, followed quickly by the brilliant burst of light of the true spell.

The arena's walls flickered as Konngara crashed into them, the red walls bending under her weight. Pushing away, the samurai held her sword out before her, a hand along the blunt edge of the blade. _"Devour my soul, and grant me power eternal,"_ she recited. _"Devil's Deliverance – Hunger of the Muramasa!"_

Black wisps of smoke began to rise from the ground, wrapping around the blade and along her arm. Holding the blade out to the side, Konngara laughed aloud as she visibly paled, the sword's black sheath now turning to a deep blood red.

Byakuren flinched as Konngara blasted by her, a burst of wind sweeping by her as the Astral Knight skidded to a halt behind her. Thankfully, the scroll's magic had stopped that from being bisection proper. The monk turned around –

Konngara was already on her other side, and there was a new bloody gash in her side.

The samurai continued this whirlwind of attacks, each time speeding up as the Muramasa chopped and hacked, constantly tasting blood as she swung it back and forth with no more effort than if she were wielding a butterknife. Every time she made her charge, Konngara leapt up against the wall and just pushed off for another hit-and-run. With every strike, the monk was forced further down onto one knee as the blitzkrieg rained down around her. One last time, the Astral Knight kicked off against the arena's borders, vaulting into the air to deliver the finishing blow.

Byakuren lowered her arms and smiled. She dropped her scroll, a single spell inscribed on it:

_Virupaksa's Eyes_

The wave of power slammed against the samurai, stopping her dead in the air. Too late, she fell onto the defensive as Byakuren leapt towards her, grabbing a new vajra from the folds of her dress. Konngara prepared herself for the bolt of golden light that she would have to defend against–

_Two_ blades manifested around the vajra.

Byakuren whipped her arm out, the first hit easily deflected by her opponent. Using her momentum, she continued spinning, the second attack also guarded. Arresting her movement, the monk began expertly twirling the vajra in one hand, the barrage of blows quickly taking its toll on the samurai.

Konngara held the Muramasa steady as the steady stream of assaults rained down. Finally seizing her opportunity, she moved into the offensive, crossing blades with the monk. Both sides were sent back to the earth on opposite ends of the arena. Konngara stumbled, jabbing the Muramasa into the ground to stay standing. "Heh… you're good…"

"Likewise…" Byakuren panted.

Quickly recovering, the Astral Knight tugged the odachi free and frowned as something caught her eye. "Those beads… a Buddhist nun?"

The monk felt at the small necklace she wore.

Konngara's shoulders shook with laughter, as if enjoying a personal joke at her expense. "And yet you use dark magic. What kind of preacher are you?"

"Not much of a preacher," shrugged Byakuren as she pulled open her scroll. "Just another nun. _Great Magic!_" she suddenly yelled. _"Devil's Recitation!"_

"This looks like fun." Konngara smirked as she readied the Muramasa. "In that case, show me what you've got."

**– TOUHOU –**

Ehud watched from atop a bamboo shoot as the skirmishes broke out around the mansion's perimeter. Flashes of light, the cries of youkai as they fought – this was Gensokyo as he knew it.

_One of them will give me the information I need._

His eyes scanned Eientei quickly, looking for weaknesses to exploit. No, he couldn't quite find one. Whoever the tactician was for this place, they must be pretty good. Then again, from what he'd seen so far of the battle out here, the attacking side probably had a better one. At the same time, the defenders definitely have the advantage in numbers. So why would they mount an offense? It always takes at least a three-to-one ratio to have a solid chance of success.

_Ah. A diversion._

He only saw it for a brief moment, but the glowing crystal wings and camouflaged outfit made her stand out amongst the rabbit-eared youkai like a sore thumb. Maybe she could give him some answers. Spinning a knife in one hand, he slid easily down the side of the bamboo shoot towards the ground. His eyes flickered between the combatants, looking for a suitable target –

_There!_

Digging in with his feet, he kicked off and launched himself into the air. In the dark night, he was barely visible as a vague blur, vibrant blood red scarf trailing behind him. Slamming down _hard_ onto the back of his target, he wasted no time in instantly jumping to the next one. Landing deftly on the rabbit's head, he pushed off and back into the air again. Twice he repeated this process before finally slamming into the defensive wall built around the mansion. The fractal scar on his back glowed from under his clothes, and the tug of gravity suddenly changed from vertical to horizontal.

"Mokou!" Cirno rushed to the phoenix immortal's side. "Are you alright?"

"Just a bruise," said Mokou. "Something like that won't kill me. But… who was that?"

"I don't know," muttered Cirno. Throwing up a wall of ice as the danmaku smashed into it, she hauled Mokou to her feet. "But whoever that was, we'll have to keep an eye out until we figure it out. For now, though, he seems to be a friendly… mostly."

Ehud sprinted up the side of the wall effortlessly. Reaching the top, he flipped easily over the edge – and came face to face with a glowing palm.

"Sound the alarm!" Reisen called out as the guards mobilized. "They've breached the def –_ oof!"_

The Blood Lightning narrowed his eyes silently as he hauled Reisen clean off her feet. Not even giving her a moment to react, he effortlessly flung her to the side and drew his knife. Twirling it into a reverse grip, he rushed past the dazed rabbit before she could recover, easily tearing down the halls of Eientei.

_An entire platoon of youkai – not good._

He froze, finally coming to a halt as they brought their weapons to bear on him – some wielding various modern firearms, but most simplying readying their danmaku. For the briefest moment, they didn't move, a stalemate with tension that surely had to snap at some point.

Ehud smirked briefly. Raising his free hand, he tugged his scarf a little higher, over his neck and mouth. Tightening it, he extended the same hand and silently dared them to try him.

The blonde youkai at their head smiled, showing off her razor-sharp fangs. A small red amulet bobbed in her hair. "Looks like I get a midnight snack."

They opened fire – on empty air. The Blood Lightning had shot directly upwards – into the _ceiling._ Effortlessly smashing through the thin wood, he hauled himself overtop and vanished from sight. The youkai exchanged glances–

_SMASH!_

He reappeared – directly overtop them. A quick spin instantly dropped one of them with a bone-shattering drop kick. Not missing a beat, Ehud flung his knife and plunged both hands into his pockets. The curved dagger embedded itself hilt-deep in another rabbit's chest, and she went down as well. The others finally began to overcome their shock. Rumia growled and bared her claws before striking.

Ehud waited until they were an inch's distance from each other – before taking out his hands. In his grip were two compact handguns. He squeezed the triggers.

Rumia crumpled at his feet, a pool of blood quickly forming. It probably wasn't enough to finish her, but Ehud didn't have the time to check his handiwork. Marching directly over her body, he continued firing, the spent rounds littering the floor around him. At the back of their small squadron, he could see some of them finally overcoming their shock, bringing their weapons to bear on him once more.

_Click. Click._

Perfect timing.

The Blood Lightning dropped his guns, instead dashing forward as the last bullets flew. Not even flinching as he flew through the shower of blood, he grabbed his knife from where it was embedded in a rabbit youkai's chest. For the briefest moment, he thought of what this scene must have looked like to others – he, Ehud, blasting through a shower of blood. Moving with the speed and deadliness of a thunderbolt, and empowered by one.

There was a reason they called him Blood Lightning.

One brief instant was all it took. Coldly tugging the knife free of its still-warm victim, he produced a handkerchief and wiped off the dagger with it. He internally bemoaned the bloodied state of his undershirt – that was going to take far too long to clean out. Oh, well – sacrifices have to be made, sometimes. Grabbing his two pistols from the ground, Ehud reached into his coat and procured a small vial of clear liquid. Tossing it to the ground, it broke, a horrible noxious fume emitting from it as its contents almost immediately evaporated.

_There. That'll keep them from following me. Now, to find that girl…_

He turned away from his work – and saw a single red massive bullet, aimed directly at his face.

_BOOM!_

"Yes!" Reisen hissed in quiet triumph. Springing out of her hiding place, she began picking through the smoke for her handiwork. That'll teach that psycho to come barging into her home! "Hey, wait a second…"

Ehud wasn't there.

And that was when the crushing vice closed around her shoulder.

"_Looking_ for someone?" Whipping her around, Ehud slammed his foot across her face and sent her reeling – directly into his knockout gas. Marching after her, he repeated the same, a powerful roundhouse spinning her around once again. Grabbing the dazed Reisen with one hand, he plunged his hand into his coat with the other. Grabbing a lighter, he held it up before her and flicked it.

_Whomph._

Fire instantly spread throughout the corridor as the alcoholic gases ignited. Reisen herself was sent flying by the blast, smashing clean through the flimsy paper wall and set on a painful collision course with the ground. Dusting off his hands, he finally tugged down his scarf and waved away the fumes. As the lightning fractal across his back faded away once again, Ehud finally spoke.

"Looks like she couldn't take the heat."

**– TOUHOU –**

**[Cue SFX: *YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH*]**

**Fun Fact: A proper mixture of alcohol can produce an explosion that flares extremely briefly and leaves no scorches or burns, yet carries the same force as a standard explosion. This is how some "ghost bombs" are created. The more you know!**


	7. The Veteran's Madness

**Hey, you! Yeah, you! Wake up, because weeeee've got ANOTHER CHAPTER OF BWI COMING UP!**

***clapping***

**Thank you, thank you!**

**Alright, with that out of the way, we can get to the big parts of the story.**

**Tez7: Well, what did you expect? Sure, I took a couple liberties and made him not quite as good as he should have been (because it would have ended with almost everyone dead), but yeah, he's still a nightmare to fight. When in doubt, look to Sean Connery. That'd actually be pretty cool, now that I think about it!**

**Ziden115: Fire element is best element! Actually, no, I like Void more, personally, but fire is still pretty damn awesome. Also, you might be interested in what the Mythbusters had to say about lighting a compressed barrel of sawdust on fire. Go on, we'll wait.  
**

**Today's AP is brought to you in part by _kimi no museum_ and their masterpiece, "Witche's Medley"! Excellent song, give it a listen. That reminds me, I should probably let Marisa and Mima back into the story. They've kinda just been sitting on the sidelines for a while now...**

**– TOUHOU –**

"There's only so many ways out of the dream dimension," said Darius. While he didn't seem nearly as violent as he had previously, he was definitely simmering over something. "Sorry, but I haven't the slightest on how to get out."

"I do," Yumemi spoke up.

The two of them turned to her. Darius raised an eyebrow. "Really, now."

"But the problem isn't breaking the barrier," added the professor. "The problem is where we'll end up."

The gunslinger nodded slowly. "… Makes sense."

Julian looked back and forth between the two of them. "Excuse me, I'd like an explanation."

"The dream dimension's ranges are directly proportional but exponential to reality as you know it," explained Yumemi. "If you took two steps in here and left, you'd be taking twenty steps outside. That means that with my… powers, it's not a question of _how_ we'll get out, but _where_ we'll get out."

"One wrong step and you might just step out into the goddamn Pacific Ocean," said Darius.

"Exactly."

"I don't know the geography of this place… but I can give you two a starting point." The gunslinger glanced over his shoulder. "Keep walking, straight past me. You'll… you'll know what it is you're looking for when you get there."

"What's down the road?" asked Yumemi.

The gunslinger scowled. "You'll see when you get there. Just, ah… just bring him with you, huh?"

The two of them turned around to see where Yumemi had dumped the gunslinger's body earlier.

"… Oh."

In a few short minutes, Yumemi and Julian had at least managed to scoop up Darius' physical body ("I'm sorry I broke his arm, but when you have a creepy old man pointing a spear into your face, you can only be so careful!") and haul it with them into the distance. Darius assured them that he could wait for however long it took – just that they did have to check in eventually, y'know?

The gunslinger shifted, tilting his head. Clanking on his chains a few times, he was able to confirm they were well out of earshot. Sighing, he growled to thin air, "Alright, I did what you asked me to. Now what?"

In front of him, the air shimmered. Almost completely buried in the ground, a single black needle stood upright, the tiny red gem set into the base sparking. It flashed, a hollow, echoing voice reverberating from its depths. _"You will continue to follow the agreement, as you have been told."_

"Well, what more do you fucking want me to do?"

_"You will await my next orders. Until then… I don't care."_

The chains binding his torso tightened unexpectedly as they glowed red-hot, excruciating pain running across his body. Darius screamed in pain as the smoldering lengths of chain tightened further, almost to the point that it seemed they would crush his rib cage – and they loosened, the sounds of chains rattling filling the air as they receded into the ground. The gunslinger's cry fell to a low growl as he breathed heavily, head falling to his chest.

_"I will see my end through,"_ the voice in the gem said. _"In exchange, you will see your end through. Do this, and I will break your chains without a second thought. Fail me, and…"_

The black chains, now gathered in a loose pile around him, rattled as they moved slightly.

_"Do I make myself clear?"_

"Pretty fuckin' crystal," hissed Darius.

_"Good."_

**– TOUHOU –**

"Dammit, people!" Lewis cursed as he swept by the hangar. "I want this Superfortress running, and I want it in the air _yesterday!"_ Muttering to himself, he strode into his office, slamming the door on his way in. "Useless pieces of…"

"Ha! That's new, innit? Lewis T. Dawson, flaming his fellow soldiers?" Goukei leaned back in the soldier's chair, a bottle of whiskey in hand. "And I thought you were on this suicide mission for your old squad!"

"Put a lid on it, you perpetually drunk drain on my resources," snarled Lewis. "I brought you here to keep me updated, not to freeload." Grabbing his aviator's jacket from the coat hanger by the door, he threw it on along with his scarf, briefly admiring the autumn-leaf patterns on it.

Goukei caught the look in Lewis' eye. "Havin' second thoughts? Third thoughts, maybe?"

"Shut your mouth," snapped the soldier.

"Still thinking about the tengu, are ya?" The former shinigami laughed aloud. "Yeah, yeah, alright, but it's not like anything interesting _has_ been happening, y'know?"

Lewis snapped on his gloves and glanced over his shoulder at the cocky oni. Oh, how he wished he could just run the fucker through! "Give me an update or _get out_, Goukei."

He finally stopped lazing around. "Alright, I'll get to it. Which part first?"

"Gensokyo."

"Hmm… I don't think much has changed. From what I've gathered, there haven't been many souls down at the Sanzu – well, no more than there would be normally. Traffic flow is normal, so it hasn't changed too much. On the flip side, there have been a couple outsiders slipping in now that the barrier's cracking."

The soldier opened a cabinet to reveal a row of razor-sharp knives and daggers. Running a finger along them, he muttered, "Cracking?"

"Yeah. Ever since that Yakumo ran off and fucked herself over, Muyoka got her ass handed to her. I'm not too sure what's going on down there – Sukima is _way_ too good at cloaking herself – but she's probably restoring the Great Hakurei Barrier as we speak."

"So I'd better move fast, huh…?" Lewis carefully pulled out a Japanese wakizashi – a short sword he recovered some eighty years ago.

"Damn straight."

With a small grunt, Lewis slammed the sword back into its scabbard. Hooking the sheath around his belt, he dug into his pockets and threw a couple of coins at Goukei. "There. That'll cover the fee, right?"

The shinigami easily snatched them out of the air, holding one up the light as he turned it between his fingers. His eye narrowed, the muscles around his bandaged eye tightening. Gold pieces – the same fare he'd received on the job, God alone knows how long ago. "… Yeah. Yeah, it'll do."

"Good." The soldier snapped on a set of goggles and tightened his scarf. "Get going, reaper. I'll find you at the Hill of Memorials."

The oni chuckled. "You sure about that? It's overrun with wild youkai now… you really wanna go toe to toe with them again?"

"Gladly." He threw open the doors, striding back into the hangar with Goukei at his side. Before them, the towering colossus that was the bomber plane Lewis once piloted sparked to life, a deafening roar filling the air. "If I burn Gensokyo to the ground, great. If I die, I've got my friends waiting on the other side of the river. And if I do both… well." Not bothering to spare another glance at his companion, Lewis swept down the aisle, boarding the B-29 without another word.

Goukei ignored the howling winds as the B-29's engines started, one after the other. His cloak whipped about him like a furious vortex as he watched it take off. His easygoing grin faded, instead replaced with a furious snarl. "You think you're going into your last flight a hero, don't you? How adorable." Turning around, the ex-shinigami extended a hand and flicked his wrist, blue will-o-the-wisps forming at his feet before sweeping him away into nothingness. As his visage distorted and turned to blue smoke, a final cackle blew past his lips.

"They always think they're the heroes of their little stories!"

**– TOUHOU –**

Ehud pressed his palm firmly against a bloodied wound in his other arm. He didn't think that little girl could put up so much of a resistance in so little time…! At the very least, she probably wouldn't be a problem for the time being, what with being tied up, trussed like a Thanksgiving turkey, and currently swinging from the rafters unconscious.

Thumbing a couple knobs on his twin handguns, the empty magazines fell out with a dull _clunk,_ two fresh ones easily being slid and locked into place. Holstering both pistols, the assassin reached out to the wall with his free arm, calmly dipping two fingers into his open wound and smearing blood across the walls. He'd prefer to use someone else's blood – optimally, another human's – but he didn't know what would happen if he tried this with a youkai's blood.

The blood runes complete, he drew his kris knife and held his palm over it. Without a single noise, he slit open his palm, letting the fresh crimson liquid splatter across the runes. On his back, the Lichtenburg figure glowed, lightning fractals lighting up with an unnatural shine. Smiling with grim satisfication as he felt his numerous wounds sealing up, Ehud licked one finger before running it across the runes, scratching them into ineligibility. Reaching up with his freshly repaired arm and hand, he tapped the receiver in his ear. No signal.

Typical.

Well, it seemed this excursion was a complete and utter failure. He'd failed to extract information from this vampire, he wasn't able to cover up his tracks by any means that wouldn't open other loopholes, there were probably more youkai closing in on him at this very moment, the list went on and on.

Ehud reached into his pocket, procuring another glass vial identical to the one he'd used before. God, how he hated using them like this – it always took so long to make a decent batch…

Dashing the small bottle to bits on the ground, he tugged the scarf over his mouth again and waited. The footsteps were drawing closer. Grabbing his lighter, he held it up and waited.

Reisen burst into the room, flanked by a battalion of rabbit youkai. "There he is! Open fi–"

He met her eyes, his thumb running along the wheel of the lighter.

The lunar rabbit's face went slack. "Please, no…"

Ehud simply shrugged and nodded.

_Whomph._

_SMASH!_

With a roar of crackling wood, the assassin smashed through the already weak walls, his jump only propelled by the explosion. Smashing into the ground with what should have been bone-splitting force, Ehud simply turned his fall into a controlled somersault, coming up with his kris knife drawn and at the ready. Thankfully, it didn't seem anyone was in any condition to chase him. Excellent.

Flipping over his knife, he grabbed his third and last bottle, crushing it in a bare hand. Ignoring the cutting pain of the glass shards, he glanced around as the other combatants around him slowly began getting over their shock. He only had a moment to do this before they actually killed him.

Reaching up with his knife, Ehud pulled it _apart,_ the hilt and blade separating as he struck the flat of the blade against the pommel of the grip. Instantly, sparks flared as the flint was dashed against the hardened blade, one last blast rushing through the bamboo forest.

Unlike the others, this one was going to leave its mark.

If he felt the flames licking at his figure, the assassin gave no sign as he snapped the two halves of the knife back together, the bolts locking them securely back into place. Not wasting another moment, he backflipped into the top of the trees and shot off into the night.

_Perfect,_ he thought to himself as he effortlessly leapt from shoot to shoot. _I might not have been able to succeed, but I got the next best thing._

"You rotten, slimy _BASTARD!"_

Ehud slammed a heel into the top of the bamboo and grabbed the tip of it, throwing his momentum into a roll to drop out of the way as a fireball roared past him. Swinging his way back around, he came back up at the top of the shoot, easily balanced on one foot.

Fujiwara no Mokou stood opposite to him – or rather, "stood" was the wrong word. Rather, twin wings of flame kept her aloft (though he honestly doubted they actually _flew_) as she easily tossed a fireball from hand to hand. "Oi, you! I've got a bone to pick with you."

Unnoticed in the dim moonlight, Ehud rolled his eyes.

"The name's Mokou – Fujiwara no Mokou." Both hands now cloaked in flame, she grinned as the assassin took a step back. "Don't even think of running, buddy. Fight me, fair and square. Got it?"

He narrowed his eyes. Unseen by the phoenix immortal, his hands worked furiously at his side, carefully threading a thick rope around the grip of his knife. _Almost, almost…_

"So feel free to try me any time!" She boasted. "Well!?"

His impromptu weapon completed, Ehud straightened properly – and shook his head. "I'll pass."

Before Mokou could even begin to comprehend his words were, the assassin tossed his kris knife directly at her. The impossibly sharp dagger spun end over end, moonlight reflecting off the blade as it tasted blood. Mokou choked as the blade bit deep into her gut. On the other hand, Ehud gave almost no reaction as he watched her reel in the air. A single flick of the wrist sent the dagger airborne, the blade carving a deep cut across Mokou's body. "I don't have time for this."

With a cold tug on the rope, he caught the knife in mid-air and sheathed it in one fluid movement. Unknotting the now-burning rope, he tossed it aside and took one last look at Mokou – who shot one last fireball at him. Ehud barely flinched, simply stepping backwards… and right off the edge of the bamboo shoot. As he fell, the lightning fractal shimmered and gravity loosened its grip on him once more, instead letting him shimmy down the side of the shoot to the ground before taking off.

"Get back here!" Mokou made to give chase, but in her condition only managed to fall out of the sky. "God _dammit!_"

Ehud breathed heavily as he did another once-over of his physical condition. Heart, racing, but not going to fail. Lungs, working. Legs… he'd have to rest later. Arms, okay except for his right. Then again, the burn wasn't that bad. Head, a little wobbly, but otherwise passable. Bones, one broken. He could handle that later. Basic organs – fuck.

That's going to leave a mark if he didn't patch it up soon. Unfortunately, judging from the sound of an airplane overhead… yeah, no, he wasn't going to get the time he needed for some MacGyver'd surgery.

Ehud really hated his job sometimes.

A sudden prickling made him twitch. The Lichtenburg scar was reacting again, but not of his own volition. Something else was making it activate. Was there… was there _another Harbinger there?_

No. The Wildcard would _never_ send in more than one to execute a mission. Conquest's host was still under maintenance, War was dead, Famine was relocated (in Africa, to boot), and Death… well, three guesses where Death was. But if that was the case, _why was there another Harbinger!?_

The pins and needles began to fall away, Ehud beginning to calm down. A second, more careful examination of it revealed that, no, the Wildcard never dispatched another Harbinger. No, the other three were still exactly where they – wait. The Wildcard must have been looking for a new candidate of War. And if that's the case…

Well, now he remembered. "Best the master in single combat," he muttered to himself, "or exterminate a fellow Harbinger."

Seemed like it would soon be time to welcome another into the fold. However, Ehud wasn't the type to take it lying down. The Wildcard's mission could wait. He was itching to test his knife on a worthy opponent. The lightning fractal continued to faintly jab at him – almost like radar to let him know just where his new target was. He turned his eyes to the colossal plane flying overhead. It was countless thousand feet in the sky, barely visible as a speck in the distance against the night sky, but he knew it was there.

"B-29… Superfortress…" The assassin mouthed silently. Something about that particular bomber… no, it must be nothing. More importantly, his newest target must be up there. And if that was the case…

So _this_ was why he was told to bring that with him!

Shrugging off his coat, the assassin unzipped the lining of the dark red fabric, a dark green, almost black surface greeting him amongst the padding. Pulling out the compact case, he threw the coat back on and opened the small box, glancing back up again as the bomber flew by once more. Pulling out the contents of the case, Ehud quickly assembled the pieces of the sniper rifle, firing off two quick shots to make sure each part was where it belonged. Once his weapons check was done, the assassin stowed away the casing of the compact rifle once more, the Superfortress blowing overhead one last time.

It was significantly lower this time. Whatever this bomber was doing, it was probably going to touch down soon. Strapping his sniper rifle to his back, Ehud tugged his scarf a little higher one last time and began running.

**– TOUHOU –**

The soldier paced back and forth in the bay of his airplane, the howling winds screeching just on the other side of the flimsy metal. Honestly, it was probably more magic than metal keeping them airborne at this point, but Lewis would never admit it. But that wasn't too big on his mind – rather, these two motherfuckers were.

"So…" Lewis finally sat down, reclining easily in a leather armchair – one of the few onboard. "I'd ask how in all eighteen rings of hell you got here, but honestly… I don't give a shit." He turned his attention to the three guards standing by him. "If they do anything even _remotely_ suspicious, shoot them. No questions, just lead through their brains. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused in unison.

"Hey, Lewis!" Julian called out. Two of the soldiers reached for their pistols, but did nothing. "If you're gonna let them kill us, why bother lugging us around on your big fancy bomber anyways?"

"I'm already doing you a favour." Lewis tapped a revolver against his thigh in a thinly-veiled threat. "Don't push me, and I won't push you – right out the airlock, that is."

"Why are you so interested in destroying this place, anyways!?" Julian moved to get up. Almost immediately, one of the guards politely but firmly shoved him back into his seat. "I mean, look outside! This is the kind of utopia you could never find anywhere else and you want to _torch it_?"

"Julian," Yumemi muttered through clenched teeth. "Please stop before we both wind up with bullets in our heads."

"It's not my fault we made a wrong turn and warped into some psychopath's bomber plane," Julian snarked back.

The handgun's barrel swung up and pointed directly into his face, Lewis' enraged features on the other end of the gun. "Lesson one," he started as he cocked back the hammer. "Never point a gun unless you're ready to fire it. That's one thing I adhere to, so unless you want this piece of lead in your skull _right now,_ shut your mouth."

The agent gulped and stayed silent.

"Better." The revolver was lowered as Lewis sat back down. "Look here, Julian… Okazaki. I don't even think you two have the slightest idea, but if you saw all the people who might as well have been your second family brutally murdered in this… so-called _paradise_–" He spat to the side scornfully. "– you wouldn't be so excited about seeing it saved either. The ones you think are humans, the ones you think are lost, innocent children who never deserved to see the horrors of war… well, they're probably the ones dealing it out."

"Sir!" Another soldier poked his head in through a side door. "We're landing in five minutes."

"Right on schedule… finally, something's going well." Lewis turned back to his two captives, a demented smile on his face. "Welcome to the land of the rising sun, lady and gentleman. Enjoy this sight, 'cause it'll be your last."


	8. Ride of the Valkyries

**Holy poopsicles, are we already back for another chapter of BWI? Damn straight, we are!**

**On today's menu is our delicious part one to the first big battle of BWI! Buckle up, folks, and pray Lewis isn't in the cockpit! *cackling***

**Ziden115: I like to differentiate between Gravity and Void, myself. You know, natural forces of the universe like magnetics and gravity and whatnot, I tend to leave them alone. I just think of Void as darkness on steroids. XD And no, Ehud pretty much never cares. Well, except when he does, but still. Cold-hearted motherfucker.**

**Also, I'm so sorry, but I am going back on my word _so hard right now._ Then again, I'm not exactly faking their deaths...**

**Hackery: Biggest difference between them? Ehud won't tape a smiley face to his crotch and pelvic thrust when he's about to kill someone. And, I'm so sorry, but I don't FMA either. Geez, another accidental shout-out! I didn't mean to do that! Lewis was probably friendly with them once upon a time. You know, make friends with them, work your way into their heart... and then blast it to pieces. Right now, though, the tengu probably really want him dead.**

**Don't worry, I'll try to deliver to your expectations!**

**This chapter's AP will be "Dark Prophecy", as performed by _Tutti Sound! _Hit it, everybody! And a one, two, three, four...**

**– TOUHOU –**

Alright, gut-check time.

In the distance, Julian could faintly make out the shapes of Lewis and some oddly-dressed man talking to each other. It seemed to be a heated argument – not that it really mattered to him. More importantly was what the hell had happened to the gunslinger's body?

Oh, there it is.

Another soldier nearby was currently carrying Darius' body over his shoulder with one arm, the other hand resting on his holster. Sadly, it didn't seem likely that they could rely on him to butt in. Dropping his voice to a barely audible murmur, Julian said, "Yumemi, anything?"

"No," she muttered back. "I might be able to do something, but we'd get shot down before I had a chance to use it."

"Damn." The agent felt the tip of a barrel prodding against his back.

"Keep moving," one of the soldiers said gruffly.

"Alright, I'm moving…" Julian's eyes flickered back and forth as he looked for a way out. You'd think that if your job occupation was federal fucking agent, it'd involve at least some sort of protocol for this type of situation. Too bad government units don't often wind up in situations like this more often. Even so, there had to be _something_ that could get him out of this.

His hands were pretty much tied – if not literally, then at least metaphorically.

As they approached Lewis on the crest of the hill, Julian took note of the many scattered weapons. They were in horrible condition after decades of erosion had taken their toll, but the frames of the World War II-era guns were all too recognizable. Several scattered helmets of the same era littered the grass, moonlight reflecting off of their cracked and battered edges.

Julian took in the sight slowly. "What is this place…?"

At the peak of the hill, Lewis' argument finally began to come into earshot. "I've set my flight path already, and you're not delaying me for any reason, Goukei!"

"One last time," the ex-shinigami insisted. "Out of professional courtesy, and with all due respect, are you out of your fucking mind? You won'teven make a damn _dent_ in Gensokyo's history!"

"I already have what I needed from you," sneered Lewis. "So while you're busy with that, I'll be sending this hellhole straight _to_ hell!" Cocking the revolver once more, he strode down to meet his soldiers halfway. "Bring them here!"

Julian and Yumemi found themselves roughly pushed down to their knees, Lewis walking around to behind them. The agent glanced around one last time – there wasn't an opening. "Well, never thought it'd end this way."

"I don't think anyone would imagine themselves going out this way," said Yumemi.

"Enough banter." Sliding back the hammer, he pressed the cold metal barrel against Julian's head.

"Any last words?"

"Yeah," muttered Julian. "Go fuck yourself."

Yumemi sighed. "And I was so close to uniting the last force…"

"… If that's all." Lewis' eyes narrowed, a brief smile flashing across his face as his finger squeezed the trigger. "Nighty night!"

_BANG!_

The agent flinched – and blinked. He wasn't dead! What just happened?

Glancing up, he saw Lewis whipping around in shock as oneo f his men went down, the back half of his head reduced to fine red mist.

"Julian, cover your eyes!" And then Yumemi was there, pushing him to the side as she leapt to her feet. Dropping something at her feet, the professor wasted one brief moment meeting Lewis' eyes. A quick wink – and she grabbed the confused Julian by the collar, holding her other hand out in front of her.

The small silver crucifix hung from her wrist, swinging once, twice – and _expanded,_ a red wall of energy forming in front of her as the bullets crackled against it. On the floor, her device blipped once before also exploding, a blinding burst of light filling the clearing.

"We're clear!" Roughly pushing past the dazed soldiers, the professor snatched up a dropped gun and tossed it to the agent. "Get to the plane!"

Lewis lowered the arm he'd used to shield his eyes, quickly zeroing in on his fleeing subjects. Cursing, he turned from side to side before finding the man he was looking for. "Don't just stand around!" Shoving the ex-shinigami forward, he yelled, _"Move it!"_

Unnoticed by any of them, a dark red object darted out of the treeline, sprinting at incredible speed for the bomber plane. Vaulting over the massive turbines, it hauled itself onto the roof of the Superfortress before disappearing from sight.

Julian rushed into the B-29, loosing a few shots over his shoulder. He didn't plan to hit, just to scatter them. "Yumemi, know how to get this thing working?"

"No idea!" She called back as she jumped in next to him, the two of them slamming the heavy metal door shut. "But there might be a way to–" The professor froze, eyes flicking back and forth as the plane seemed to… _glow._ Hundreds of turquoise runes lit up, running in intricate patterns along the plane's surface. "Never mind – I don't think _anyone_ has to steer this!"

_SMASH!_

A massive gust of air blew in as the metal door was cleanly ripped from its hinges and smashed against the other side of the plane's hull. Lewis and Goukei lowered their hands. The latter said, "Oi! Oi, oi! You better be paying me extra for this!"

"I don't care if you want world domination," snarled the soldier as he slammed a hand against the plane's walls. Energy lines flowed from his palm throughout the plane – and it began to _move,_ slowly at first, but rapidly picking up speed. "I want these two dead at my feet!"

"God dammit…" Goukei muttered. Even so, he held out both hands, a pale white shaft appearing between his hands as he separated them. Closing his hands around either end of the scythe's shaft, he yelled, _"Reawaken, Shinokama!"_

Not just one, but _two_ scythe blades erupted from the shaft, one from each end. In the confined spaces of the Superfortress, it just about took up the entire space. That alone probably should have been enough to do them in, but no, of _course_ it's not enough.

No, it has to burst into flames as well.

"That's better." Lewis smirked as he brought out the gun once more, cocking the hammer as he brought it to bear on them.

**[Theme of the Harbingers: Bayonetta – You May Call Me Father]**

A brief flash of crimson outside the open door made Julian turn – just as another figure came crashing into the room. Spinning his dagger in one hand, the assassin leapt forward, driving it hilt-deep into Goukei's neck. With a heaving effort, Ehud turned around and kicked him off the end of it to the dirt below – and very nearly ground him to pieces as the turbines roared by less than a foot from his head. As his back was turned to them, Julian's eyes widened as he saw the mark on his back. A fractal figure, the same formed when lightning struck an object. Almost like tree branches, reaching out across his back.

The same as _his._

Lewis overcame his shock much more quickly than his two companions, almost immediately drawing his wakizashi. "Alright, who the hell are you supposed to be?"

The assassin did not respond.

"I'm _talking to you!"_ His face contorting in anger, Lewis levelled the revolver at his face and pulled the trigger.

_Bang!_

Ehud finally turned – and _moved,_ travelling the distance between the two of them in almost no time. Far behind them, they could hear the dull _thunk_ as the lead struck a tree trunk. Lewis had missed!

The assassin reached out, a crushing grip slamming shut around Lewis' neck. His eyes narrowed as he drew the wavy kris knife, resting it against the soldier's jugular – before withdrawing, slamming him to the ground instead. "… Incorrect target." He turned, eyes coming to rest on Julian. In another lightning-quick leap, he was standing just in front of the agent, in the same position as Lewis had been.

On his back, Julian could feel the Lichtenberg scar reacting explosively, searing pain arcing across his back as he met the eyes of the assassin. "Who... are you?"

Yumemi finally snapped out of it, drawing a small pocketknife – and blinked in shock as she was disarmed without a second thought. What? But Ehud hadn't even _moved!_

The assassin turned his knife over, gently tilting Julian's head upwards with the flat of it. There, normally hidden in the shadows, he could see the scar – a purple, dead patch of skin that reached all the way around his neck, spiralling down onto his back. "… Target acquired. Hello, Harbinger Three."

"What are… you talking about?" Julian managed to choke out. His assailant said nothing, instead whipping his arm back, the knife ready to split open his neck –

With a sudden lurch, the Superfortress took flight.

Caught off-guard, Ehud stumbled. It was very brief, but just enough for Julian to wrestle free of his grasp and fall to the ground. At almost the exact same time, Lewis jumped up, slamming a palm against Ehud's gut. "Taste pressure bomb!"

With a thunderous bang, the assassin was blasted away, crashing heavily into the back of the plane. As he did, Julian could just barely make out the faint aura around him, tendrils of emerald lightning crackling for the briefest instant as he impacted before they retreated back into his own Lichtenberg scar.

Falling to the ground, the assassin rolled to the side as Lewis grabbed an assault rifle from a nearby rack and opened fire. Not wasting a moment, Ehud dug his fingers into the weakened metal and pulled. _Hard._

With that one movement, he tore the plating of the B-29 free, tossing it aside and swinging out into the open air. Without a second thought, Lewis gave chase. For one brief moment, he stopped to glance back at Julian and Yumemi.

"… Nah, I'll kill you two later."

And with that, he too phased through the runes surrounding the bomber plane, pulling himself overhead onto the roof of it.

Julian sat back, breathing heavily. He felt as though his heart was going to explode out of his chest at any moment. Yumemi cast him a brief look "Julian, we have to get going."

"Wait, what?" The agent snapped. "Sorry, but I can't exactly fight those things!"

"I'm not asking you to," the professor muttered grimly. "Ever flown before in your life?"

"Uh, once?"

"Better than me." Hauling him to his feet, Yumemi pushed him in the direction of the cockpit. "Get going, and don't let us crash. I'll lend a hand as quick as I can, alright?"

"Hold on, what about you?"

She simply gave the ceiling a meaningful look.

Julian flinched. "What? No! You can't possibly be thinking of picking a fight with them, are you!?"

"I've fought people like them before," she shrugged. "I think I can do it again." Catching the look in Julian's eye, she shut him down before he could start. "Look, just steer this plane, alright? Don't hit any buttons, just steer us around before we crash into a mountain or something. I won't die, okay?"

"You better not," Julian muttered.

"Come again?"

"Nothing."

On the top of the plane, Ehud tightened his scarf as he watched Lewis do the same. "Hey, you! Trying to steal my style!?" The soldier yelled over the roaring winds.

The assassin said nothing, instead choosing to settle into a ready stance.

"Heh." Lewis smirked again – and reached into a pocket, drawing his revolver. Ehud tensed as he lifted it, but raised an eyebrow as the soldier tossed it away, the wild wind snapping it away as they stood on the wings of the B-29. Cracking his knuckles, he pointed the wakizashi at the assassin. "Let's settle this like gentlemen!"

The assassin narrowed his eyes, hand drifting towards his gun – but decided against it. Readying his knife, he tensed up – and lunged, already poised for a killing blow. Reacting just as quickly, Lewis snapped up the short sword, the two blades clashing against each other. Letting his arm fall back, he used the momentum to swing another foot around to slam against the assassin's side, stumbling him briefly.

But only briefly. Shaking his head to clear it out, Ehud tightened his scarf even further and flipped his knife into reverse grip before jumping back in. A downwards slice was just barely grazed by the soldier, instead drawing a shallow cut across his chest. Snarling in anger, Lewis lashed out with the wakizashi – a move effortlessly parried. Even so, he struck again, this time quickly pushing down to lock their blades against each other. He glanced up, grinning at his opponent – and threw a quick punch, his power of air pressure loading it with incredible force.

_Whump._

Ehud _caught_ it.

The air pressure was released, Lewis hoping the powerful blast would send him clean off the edge of the wing. That didn't work either. No, all he got was a single step back and a tug on his fist as Ehud reeled him in like a fish, his other hand sheathing his knife in the blink of an eye. The next moment, Lewis found himself reeling as Ehud followed up his return punch with a knee to the gut. Drawing the knife again, the assassin raised it into the air as he prepared to plunge it into Lewis' skull.

A horrible sound of grating metal filled the air as Lewis recovered, throwing his wakizashi in front of him. With the element of surprise, he turned out to have successfully blocked the attack – even disarmed him in the process! Unfortunately, it seemed to come at the price of his own weapon flying out of his hands, both blades snatched away by the wind – and dropped directly into one of the bomber plane's turbines.

"Oh, _fuck_ m–"

The turbine _exploded_, shrapnel flying every which way as the two of them hit the deck, a pillar of noxious smoke billowing out of the ruined engine. The Superfortress wobbled in the air, but somehow managed to stay airborne as they stood once more. Ehud's eyes tightened, and Lewis had the strangest feeling he was smiling under that scarf.

When he threw open his coat to reveal the whole collection of knives stored inside, he knew for certain that he was smiling.

The first knife was tossed and easily batted out of the air by Lewis, a burst of compressed air sending it spinning away into the night sky. The second and third each met the same fate, but when he readied himself for the fourth, he instead found himself face to face with the assassin instead.

A deep cut was carved open along his cheek as he leaned back, the soldier instinctively crying out in pain. Even so, he grabbed his opponent's wrist and pulled him to the ground alongside him, the impact jostling his weapon loose. Scrambling to grab it before it skittered away over the edge, Lewis managed to snatch the dagger and turn back to his enemy… who was now pointing a compact pistol into his face.

"Lesson one," Ehud said as he racked the handgun's slide. "Never expect assassins to play by the rules."

_Bang!_

The assassin watched as Lewis' body tumbled out of the sky, almost certainly to a bloody death on the ground far below. Dusting off his suit, Ehud instinctively moved to pocket his kris knife. After realizing he'd been disarmed, he cursed under his breath. Oh, well. He could always find it later. Turning around, he hooked his fingers around the frame of the door and swung back in, standard metal knife at the ready.

Yumemi smiled, sheen of glossy red covering her body.

Ehud struck – and only succeeded in having his knife grate harmlessly against the professor's barrier.

"I don't usually get to play with my toys," said Yumemi as she grabbed him by the wrist. "But since you were taking so long, I decided to break out the big guns."

The assassin glanced over her shoulder at the closed cockpit door, then at the two wings on either side of them. A plan came to him. "That might be the case," he said, "but whoever said I needed to kill _you_?"

Immediately, he wrapped his free arm around Yumemi's, dropping her to the ground with his own weight. Reaching up to the already-damaged ceiling of the plane's hull, he sunk his fingers into the metal and ripped it free, letting its weight crash down on her. Tossing aside his now-useless knives, he rushed for the several sealed containers littering the B-29, picking one out of the pile. After a brief glance at the buried Yumemi, he procured a small set of lockpicks and set to work opening the munitions box.

Throwing open the lid, the assassin laid down the explosives at his feet, grabbing a thin piece of string and tying it around one of them. Jumping back onto the plane's top, he grabbed his trusty lighter and held it to the hastily made fuse – just as Yumemi blasted her way out of the steel he'd buried her under.

Their eyes met, Ehud pocketing the lighter as the lit fuse fell to the ground, rapidly closing in on the pile of explosives. Yumemi was held in place by the sheer shock that anyone would actually try that before lunging for the explosives – and being blasted away by the assassin. Holstering the gun one last time, Ehud tugged down his scarf atop the bomber plane.

"God has a message for you, but He'd rather deliver it in person."

The entire back end of the plane was torn to shreds by the explosives, half of the plane instantly separated from its other half. With an earsplitting groan, metal split and steel shattered as the Superfortress began its crash course with the ground. Yumemi, for her part, was flung to the plane's tail, disappearing from sight almost immediately afterwards as it fell to the earth far below.

Ehud turned to the cockpit doors, his face once more devoid of expression. As the plane continued its descent to the ground, he simply reached out to the door, settling one hand on it. Those other two, he was fine with letting go. But this one, he was going to kill before they even touched the ground.

"Time to sleep," he whispered as he flung open the door.

**– TOUHOU –**

**Whew! Say what you will about Bayonetta, you can't deny it has great orchestrals... Anyways, if you've enjoyed the story, R&amp;R, blah blah blah. Excuse me while I get myself some writing hype...**


	9. Armageddon's Messengers

**... So, enough back-to-back updates for you yet?**

**Sorry, my writing hype has been going crazy, and Muse has just been barfing chapters everywhere. That's a thing, yeah. Anyways, let's get going!**

**For Hackery (and anyone confused about this): Ehud, for all his batshit insanity, still isn't very good at killing main characters. Rest assured, that body count _will_ be increased by the end of BWI. Goukei is a shinigami, so he's not exactly easy to murder brutally. I should probably clarify where Lewis got his enforcement from; you have to remember that he works under Geppetto Weiss, who happens to be the lead of the IEA. It's a small hop, skip and a leap to delegate his own units to Lewis.**

**The reason Ehud uses so many weapons is because... well, he's an assassin. When you're on the job, you need a million and one potential ways to kill someone. Knives are his personal preference, but he'll gladly use a gun if daggers are out of the question.**

**Lewis _did_ in fact deflect the bullet. Not much, but enough to avoid a bullet in the lung. It's a brush cut, I guess you could say. Definitely feeling the pain, though. And of course, he won't be killed by a mere fall. No, we'll probably see more of the Blitzkrieg's Bane during yet another high-rise fight, and then I'll hopefully be able to show off his full power!**

**Speaking of power levels, Ehud is way stronger than you might think. I'll PM you if you're interested... spoilers and all that.**

**Tez7: He might not have gotten any important kills (sorry), but I promise you, there will be plot-crucial blood on his hands soon!**

**Ziden115: Well, I may or may not have been fresh of out playing Bayonetta, so... yeah, that's a thing. That happens.**

**Mage-0f-Rage: No problem at all, buddy. Our story isn't running away, you know. And I'd hope I captured a little bit of BWD's flavour, even if it is mostly overshadowed by a new writing style! It wouldn't be much of a sequel if it didn't feel like one, after all. Right?**

**BokusuKanon: Thank Muse. He's the one actually _writing,_ I'm just the one touching up and being his representative. I seem to be getting a lot of mentions of Ehud. Yay! I realize he might be a bit too powerful, but I'll get to it when I get to it. More importantly, Rule of Cool is pretty much in full effect with him, so we took a lot of liberties with his fighting style, while still keeping it... mostly efficient.**

***cough***

**Dammit, again with these giant Author's Notes! Oh, well. Today's AP will be "The Opened Way" from _Shadow of the Colossus._ You might be familiar with it. Well, with this song at the ready, let's go~!**

**– TOUHOU –**

_CRASH!_

Julian slammed against the ground heavily, gasping for breath in the thin air. Rolling aside, the agent flinched as Ehud's boot slammed against the floor less than an inch from his head.

"Get up, Harbinger." Reaching down, the assassin seized Julian by the collar and lifted him into the air. Struggling, the agent kicked out, his knee thumping against his gut. It barely affected Ehud, the crimson lightning arcing across his body easily absorbing the blow like nothing had happened. The assassin shook his head coldly, and with a swift move sent his head crashing against the plane's ripped hull.

There was a dull throbbing pain in his head... if that wasn't a concussion, he didn't know what was. Even so, fuelled by adrenaline, Julian managed to get back on his feet, the Blood Lightning watching him blankly. Something clattered to the agent's feet. A gun. Ehud had slammed him right into a munitions cabinet!

Julian grabbed a spare magazine and tossed it. Even on its own, that was plenty of heavy steel sent crashing into Ehud's face – enough to stagger just about anyone. Barely visible, Ehud's aura reacted powerfully as he stepped back. This was his chance! Snatching up the gun, Julian swept it around to bear on Ehud's face.

_Bang!_

Ehud's eyes narrowed as the bullet hole opened up in the hull behind him, passing through the magic runes that held the B-29 together. Hand tightening around Julian's wrist, the assassin pulled him down, his other arm snapping up to crush his back with his elbow.

"Argh!" Julian felt the air knocked out of him as he was slammed into the ground once again. His blurring eyes slowly focused on Ehud's boot – which was currently on a collision course with his face.

With a horrible cracking of cartilage and bone, his head snapped back, blood trickling down his face as he brought a hand up to his broken nose. Not even giving Julian a chance to recover, Ehud stomped a foot down on his stomach. "You are pathetic."

Placing the same foot under Julian's body, he kicked him over to the very edge of the plane, the roaring wind threatening to pluck him away into the open air. "Is this what the Wildcard wanted to lead us?"

Grabbing him by the ankle, Ehud dragged him slowly along the floor and pulled him onto his feet – only to spin around, a roundhouse kick slamming against his side. "What makes you important?"

Julian staggered, nearly falling out of the plane on his own. On his back, the Lichtenberg scar was blazing like someone had pressed a torch against him. With each hazy blink, Ehud's figure was fading in and out of focus. Around him, the red lightning crackled like a skintight suit, bubbling around the assassin's outline.

Wait – bubbling?

_That's it!_

Ehud was growing tired of toying with this Harbinger. If he didn't prove his manifest soon, then it'd be out the airlock with him. A flick of the wrist, and his hand wrapped around the familiar grip of a knife. Time to finish this. His hand shot into the air, dagger in a reverse grip as he prepared to bring it clean through Julian's skull–

The agent's head snapped up, both hands reaching up to the knife. The blade drew blood, but he gritted his teeth, powering through the pain as he pushed the knife to the side, Ehud's dagger instead striking the plane's hull. Once more, the knife fell from his hand, Ehud leaping back as Julian pressed the offensive. Despite the unrefined power behind each punch, the Blood Lightning could easily deflect each and every strike. And even if he didn't, there was no way a mere punch could breach the Wildcard's Blessing!

Hold on. Was this man... getting faster?

No way. Ehud's speed was unequaled in single combat! Almost no one could possibly match him! So how was this one man, this ordinary soul, beginning to challenge him!?

Julian didn't understand, but he was just going with it. With each hit he took, each punishment he was on the receiving end of, something was sparking to life in his mind. The lightning mark was blazing with incredible fury at this point, but for some reason, he couldn't feel its pain. Instead, he chose to continue focusing on trying to force back Ehud, one punch at a time.

The Blood Lightning growled. It didn't look like he had a say in this. "That's more like it, Harbinger."

Ehud finally went back on the offensive, meeting each of Julian's strikes with his own. Hand clenching around the agent's fist, he slammed his own fist against Julian's gut – and barely earned a response beyond a slight tightening of his face before he felt a sudden pain in his own arm. What!? Impossible!

Julian grinned with brief triumph as he saw a flicker of panic in the assassin's eyes. Finally, one of his attacks had slipped past that morphing barrier! Yes, it covered his body, and yes, it absorbed god knows how much damage – but yes, it was shifting, and that means that _yes, his defense was not absolute_!

_He's figured it out._ Ehud continued exchanging blows with Julian, each strike easily taken by the Blood Lightning before he retaliated with his own punch. _But you're not getting a chance to use it anymore._

The agent snapped away from his opponent, the assassin doing the same as they leapt back. Around them, the plane continued its descent, the runes keeping it aloft flickering, bursts of wind escaping into the hull as they weakened. Ehud dipped his head. "It took you long enough, Harbinger."

"I... have a name..." Julian gasped. "Julian... Meliss."

The Blood Lightning nodded slowly. "If so... show me what you've got, Julian."

A deafening creak of splitting metal filled the air once more as the flight runes wrapped around the plane shimmered – and shattered. Finally, the last support keeping it aloft broken, the Superfortress began its descent proper, plummeting at dizzying speed.

Julian blinked as gravity suddenly stopped working, the plane's descent effectively leaving them in temporary zero-gravity. Ehud simply took it in stride, pressing both feet against the plane's hull before tackling Julian against the other side of the plane.

The agent felt the already weak metal bending under his weight. A glance to the side showed him just how much time they had left – considering there was a fucking mountain looming just below them, yeah, not much time at all. Looking back up, he took another look at the energy field that had protected Ehud for so long. He grinned.

"Check and mate."

His hand snapped up, a palm strike colliding soundly with Ehud's cheek. Wiping off the flecks of blood on his face, Julian jumped up after him, grabbing the assassin by the collar the same way Ehud had done to him – and spun around, tackling him _straight out of the plane!_

Ehud snarled under the scarf as he saw the ground approaching. Reaching up, his hand tightened around Julian's elbow, trying to snap it. The agent batted away his hand, but quickly found himself on the losing end as the Blood Lightning flipped them over in mid-air, Julian now the one who was going to hit the ground hardest!

"I don't... think so!" Pulling at Ehud's arm, the agent forced his elbow to buckle instead with a quick strike, bringing him into range. The wind howled as they grappled in the air, fighting to see who would be hitting the ground first.

It was almost time – the agent finally went for his finisher, tucking in his arm and lashing out with his elbow. In a brutal display of revenge, Ehud reeled as Julian's elbow met his own face. "Not so funny now, huh!?"

Through the haze of pain, Ehud recovered – but too late. In that crucial second, Julian had flipped back onto the top, and with his hands wrapped tightly around Ehud's scarf to restrict him, wasn't going to let go of the position this time. "Game over!"

They collided with the ground.

Ehud hissed as he felt his bones cracking under the pressure. Not quite broken, but certainly mangled. All these consecutive fights were getting to him; assassins weren't built for extended combat like this. He'd have to come back another time…

Julian barely reacted as Ehud rolled him to the side. The Blood Lightning raised a stinging hand to his face, feeling his own broken nose – a parting gift from the barely conscious agent. Halfheartedly giving him a kick in the side, Ehud limped away, the rough mountain terrain only hindering him. This was going to attract some attention – he had to get going while he could. For a moment, he thought of grabbing his scarf en route, but that was something he could live without.

The agent stared at the moonlit sky overhead, fading in and out of consciousness. His body wanted nothing more than to simply shut down at this point, and honestly, he was giving serious thought to letting it do so. He might not have had... whatever let that assassin walk away, but he did get to use the bastard as a cushion. Not that it helped him much, what with the whole countless broken bones and probably internal hemorrhaging deal.

He heard someone – or multiple someones – approaching. It sounded like they were speaking Japanese. He didn't know much of the language, but he got the gist of it. Something about clearing out, move along, those kinds of things. It seemed to be a female speaking. Did she say "bomb" or "distraction"?

_BOOM!_

… Maybe both.

Groaning quietly, he turned over his head, one of the few things that weren't completely messed up during that fall. A white and red shoe was tapping against the ground. "… memi?"

"Really, what am I going to do with you?" Yumemi reached out to pick up the agent, but quickly withdrew after her first attempt to pick him up probably dislocated something else.

"How'd you... survive?"

"Oh, that fall?" The professor flapped a hand as she tried to figure out how to bring Julian with her. "Par for the course. Most of the people here actually fly, too."

"Bull..."

"Hush; I need to work." The professor took another look at their surroundings before taking out a small inconspicuous device from her pocket. "Alright, let's see if this works. Close your eyes and don't open them until I give you the word..."

**– TOUHOU –**

Goukei paused, a hand flicking a lock of hair out of his newest catch's face. "So this is where ya went."

The ex-shinigami cast a wary look around before grabbing the unmoving body of Darius, propping it up against a tree. "Alright, buddy. You've had long enough to think it over. Once we get back, you best cooperate, eh?"

No response.

"… Charming as always." As the oni slung the gunslinger over his shoulder, a small object fell to the ground. Blinking in surprise, he held it up to the moonlight – a tiny gemstone, ornate metal casing keeping it secured on a string that was probably meant to hang around the neck. It glowed faintly, pulsing almost like a heart. "Isn't this…" A look of recognition came over his face.

"Heh. Still up to your tricks as always, Wildcard…" Cupping the crystal in the palm of his hand, he stared intently into it. "Well, let me tell you," he seethed into the gem. "Goukei doesn't take orders from you anymore. If you wanna destroy these humans, then you better work for it… you slimy, backstabbing piece of _shit._"

And, crushing the gem to dust in his hand before scattering it to the wind, Goukei picked up Darius and continued on his way, whistling a merry tune.

"Hey, freeloader!" Lewis called out from the other side of the wreckage of the B-29 bomber plane. "I don't care what depraved shit you do in your spare time, but hurry up!" For his part, the soldier looked remarkably well for having been recently shot. The only obvious tells were the countless bandages and strips of gauze across his torso and the way he favoured his left side over his right when he walked.

"Yeah, fuck you too," Goukei carelessly yelled back. "You can do your fancy little air bomb thing to just zip around all willy-nilly anyways, can'tcha?

"I'd rather not, thank you very much." Ruefully kicking aside a pile of rubble, Lewis grabbed one of the few guns still in working condition from underneath it. "Besides, you think I can fight those winged whoremongering paparazzi this way?"

"Ha!" Goukei barked. "Yeah, I can see that happening. Alright, over here, pal. I'll whip up the spell in a jiffy."

"You better," muttered Lewis as the sounds of movement grew closer. The tengu on the mountain were probably very interested in what left the bomber plane on their front lawn.

As he began forging the runes for the spell in the ground, Goukei decided to start a conversation. "So, not interested in hunting down those other three?"

"I don't have much of a bone to pick with them," he admitted. "Mostly just Geppetto's last order. Personally, I'd much rather see this fucking hellhole torn to shreds, _then_ have the three of them dead at my feet."

"Nice to see someone's got his priorities straight…" Goukei remarked.

**– TOUHOU –**

Konngara slammed the tip of the Muramasa into the ground. "Heh… never thought I'd see someone put up a fight like that again."

Byakuren sat heavily onto one of the boulders scattered throughout the icy arena. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'd hope you will." With a sound like breaking glass, the crimson barrier around them shattered, the magic field dispelled as the samurai recovered. "I must say, you paint yourself a peace-loving monk, but at the core, you still have an animal's drive for war… Not that I should be talking, of course."

Five minutes later, the three of them found themselves inside the Silent Shrine. Unlike any other shrine they'd ever seen, this one was very, _very _messy. Rusty swords were scattered haphazardly across the floor, several empty bottles clinked in the corner, there was even a small rack of traditional armour by the wall. Despite both monks' refusal to drink anything Konngara offered them, they still found themselves with a dish of sake in front of them (untouched). As for the samurai herself, she was simply downing the whole bottle and leaving them increasingly uncomfortable as she all but lost herself in the drink.

"Ah…" With a small _plunk,_ Konngara set down the empty bottle and grinned. "Hits the spot. Now then, I believe you were interested in hiring my services?"

"To a degree, yes." Byakuren leaned forward. "Again, there is a war breaking out. While my temple has sworn to neutrality, it's likely only a manner of time before someone slips up."

"Doesn't sound like a very good tactic. I mean, they've already got enemies. There's nothing in it for them, so why would they–" The samurai flinched as the metal spike embedded in her head fell away with a hiss of pain. "Oh, blast." Taking a look at the spike in her hand, she shrugged and tossed it aside anyways, covering up the mangled scar it left behind under her bangs. "Well, it's about time the darn thing came off."

Myouren raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on what just happened. "If that's your mentality, why did you see a purpose in fighting us?"

"I was only explaining what a competent tactician might do." Konngara patted her head, grabbing a roll of dusty bandages from the floor. "Me? I fight for fighting's sake. Not necessarily leaving a trail of corpses in my wake, but most of the people I've whet my sword with never put up much of a fight. You, on the other hand… well, let's just say your personalities don't quite click."

Byakuren looked confused. "… Me?"

"Yeah." Tightening the makeshift headband, the Astral Knight nodded. "You definitely act like a monk, talk like one… but you certainly don't fight like one."

"What do you mean?"

The look in Konngara's eyes sharpened. "You can tell just what kind of person a woman is when you fight her. The miko who came down here a few years ago… she'll fight, but she never cares when she does. Naturally talented, but _very_ laid-back. She couldn't work harder for the life of her." She smiled as the look of realization dawned on the elder monk's face. "I'm assuming you know her. Am I right?"

"Well, yes, but–"

"As for you, isn't having such a hands-on approach to combat rather odd for a Buddhist monk?"

"Look," Myouren spoke up. "We're not here to pick fights. We've already said that. Are you going to stand with us or not?"

"Straight to the point, I see." Konngara got up and stretched. "It's been a while since I've been free, anyways. I suppose I owe you that. And besides… I'm very interested in seeing what a duo like you has in store for the rest of the world."

As the Astral Knight departed to gather her things, Byakuren sighed. "She seems very mature, but very violent."

"That's probably just who she is. Maybe she speaks in tongues of war." Myouren absentmindedly lifted the sake dish to his lips, but dropped it hastily as the stench struck his nostrils. "Or maybe she's just an oni."

Byakuren turned back to the closed door Konngara had left through. "Whatever she is, I'm curious."

"About what, nee-san?"

"Too many things. How she found a sword of Muramasa, what her powers are, who she might really be… but more than any of those…" Byakuren could have _sworn_ there was a drop in the already chilly temperature as she spoke.

"What kind of things did she do to deserve the lowest rings of Hell?"


	10. Damnable

**Back? Again!? _ALREADY!?_**

**Yes. Yes. And hell yes.**

**Ziden115: I'm actually not too sure. Definitely interested in the Wii U and Bayonetta 2, but the internet has just been a~ll over it lately. Guess I'll just to try my hand at it and see if it lives up to its "reputation", right? And while it may take a while for it to happen... well, you already know Wildcard has at least four generals, and that they're based off of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. No prizes for guessing what happens when all of them are gathered in one place.****  
**

**Goukei, Goukei, Goukei... you know, it's ironic that even though he "worked" for Wildcard, he's the biggest wild card out there right now. We're still working on why he does what he does...**

**raidouXVI: Hey, you're back! Welcome back to the party. Hopefully there won't be an overly long wait between chapters right now...**

**And now, a word from our sponsors, "Unmeltable Jealousy" by _TAMUSIC!_ **

**... Yeah, that's it. Well, let's get started!**

**– TOUHOU –**

Ehud sat back on the table, eyes fixated on the light above him as a woman circled around him slowly. "Really now? You had all of one job." As she walked past him, the lightning fractal on her back was briefly exposed, the same pattern etched across her long light blue hair in a darker navy blue. Clipping up her lab coat, the woman turned back around, scalpel in hand. "Kill two people! No, you couldn't even do something as simple as that."

The sharpened edge was laid carefully against his bare chest. "You should be grateful, by the way," she said casually as she slid the blade under his skin. "I don't care what kind of things you do with paralyzed pain receptors, but you'd probably be screaming in agony if not for me."

"There's something called anesthetic, Famine."

"Straight-laced as ever," she murmured as she assessed the damage done. "Looks like someone did quite a number on you. What gives?"

"Pushed out of a plane."

"Makes sense…" Famine wiped her hands off on her lab coat. The garment fit surprisingly loosely on her almost emaciated figure. "Try not to go skydiving without parachutes in the future, Death. The Master's Blessing only protects us from so much."

"Duly noted." Even as his internal organs were being rearranged, the Blood Lightning didn't even seem to care. Instead, he almost looked _bored_ as he waited for the procedure to be over.

His operator chuckled as a thought came to her. "The irony is that I'm probably the last of us to be at the operating table. Good thing I've gotten a lot of practice on you, right? Well, I suppose you not dying was pretty nice, too." She made a face as she carefully pushed aside the flap of skin. "This is a pretty large mess, Death. I'm surprised you didn't bleed out on the way back."

"Just hurry up."

"This is a very delicate procedure," snapped Famine. "It'd be much appreciated if you could remain silent for this next bit – it wouldn't do for me to pop your lungs, would it?"

For ten long, drawn-out minutes, Famine continued her work in perfect silence. The only sounds were the soft grating of scalpel against bone and the occasional wet slap of rearranged organs. Throughout all of this, Ehud barely reacted, his body and nerves temporarily paralyzed for the procedure. He watched as the woman grabbed a container from the desk beside her, a spare liver flopping into her other hand.

"Alright, looks like you'll be good to go soon," she eventually said as she took out a set of stitching equipment. "Only problem is that your Heart of the Earth was dented in the fall. Try not to call on too many of the Master's powers again."

"Repair it."

"Sorry," shrugged Famine as she finished stitching up the cut, "but I can only do so much. And besides, I'm not exactly the most qualified to handle these. If Conquest ever bothers to show up, ask him." Turning over the assassin, the doctor resumed her work on his back, carefully opening up the skin along his Lichtenberg scar. "Oh, and stop with all those fancy dance moves. Keep it up, and I'm not liable for when the Master's Blessing has a breakdown."

"This body isn't that fragile, Famine."

"I know that." The woman removed a bloodied cord from along the large scar, setting it aside for the time being. "I probably know that better than you. Even so, it can only handle so much magic energy before it falls apart. You'll have to find another receptacle soon."

"Doubtful."

Famine snapped her fingers as she remembered what he was referring to. "Ah, right. I suppose he would be a fair bit more resistant. Still, you can only use a single host for so long before it rots away entirely." Feeding the black cord back into the fractal figure, she resumed stitching the fresh cuts. "I can restrain it to the field around our Master's Blessing for now, but you don't have much longer. You'd best hurry up."

"Tell me something I don't know." Ehud felt his body rolled over as Famine reached out, jabbing a small needle into his neck. As the feeling came back into his arms and legs, he got up, putting on his shirt.

"You have orders to not engage in any combat for a few days," the doctor recited as she tapped a strange conical device against his back. "The Master's Blessing will need about a week to readjust, so you'll be unstable for that time. Pick a fight, and I don't know what will happen…"

"Very well. Is that all?"

"Yes. Wait, no, one more thing." The assassin turned around, taking a confused look at the knife offered to him.

Famine smiled wearily, her sunken electric blue eyes still sparking with life. In her hand, his kris knife was there, still in perfect condition. "You forgot to bring this when we picked you up."

The Blood Lightning's eye narrowed – but he took the knife anyways, sheathing it as he left. "… Thank you, Lazarus."

"Don't bother thanking me," said the doctor as she tossed one of his removed organs into a box. "Knowing you, I'll have to operate on you again by the end of the month."

**– TOUHOU –**

"… And if you'll believe it, the miko up and seals me afterwards even after I concede defeat." Konngara huffed indignantly. "But that's beside the point. Later on, I was woken up and made to work quasi-incognito as a wandering samurai called Meira." Reaching up to her purple-dyed hair, the samurai added, "Preferably we can use that alias. 'Konngara, Astral Knight' tends to make people panic."

"… Good point," Myouren muttered idly.

The samurai slid over a rock, the small canister on her thigh rattling. While the monks didn't know what was inside, they were ready to bet it contained that strange metal spike. Why she was carrying it around was a whole other story. "Nonetheless, I'm very eager to see the overworld – it's been years since I got to enjoy freedom properly."

"Rest assured, after this is over, you'll be welcome to live life freely," Byakuren promised her. "And if you're interested, we're always interested in new faces at the temple."

"I'm only interested in the promise of sating my blade," Konngara reaffirmed. Then, after a brief pause; "Though I suppose it does sound rather promising."

The elder monk smiled. "You'll see."

"Hold on." Myouren stopped, pointing to something in the air of the wide cavern. "We've got company."

As they looked up, a small pinprick of light appearing in mid-air. Before their eyes, it crackled and sparked, rapidly growing in size. The uniform white light broke apart into a crackling rift, a blank expanse behind it. And dropping from the portal were three very familiar faces.

Futo leapt to her feet, fireballs crackling in her hands as she looked about wildly. "What in the world!? I–"

"Unyuu…"

And at their head, a sleeveless red-white miko dusted off her blouse unamusedly. "Get up, you two. We're looking… for…" She turned around – and came face to face with Konngara.

For all of the brief moment, there was complete, dead silence. Then the ground exploded into action, Reimu reaching for her charms as Konngara drew her Muramasa. "Hakurei miko," the Astral Knight snarled. "It's been too long."

"Samurai…" Reimu only raised an eyebrow. "Say, aren't you that one girl I met way back when?"

"Meira, yes." She shuffled a foot to the side in anticipation. "You bested me then, but your power will be mine."

Byakuren stepped between them. "Hold on, what's going on here?"

The miko started in surprise. "Byakuren-san? So this is where you–" Her eyes fell on the monk behind her – and promptly expanded to the size of dinner plates. "Wait a second! Just what is _he_ doing here!?"

Myouren raised a hand. "Me?"

"Yes, you! You're supposed to be dead!" Reimu suddenly turned her attention away from them. "And while we're at it, how did these two survive Makai's atmosphere for so long?" Suddenly, she whipped back around to Konngara. "In fact, where the hell have you been all these years?"

"We have a lot of explaining to do…" Byakuren sighed.

Over the next half-hour, they managed to at least work out a truce. Reimu and Konngara would wait until after this whole shebang blew over, and _then_ kill each other. Myouren simply relayed what he had told Byakuren about his return, though that only raised more questions. For Okuu and Futo, they simply shrugged and chalked it up to the Moriya Shrine's typical conspiracies.

"… but what concerns me more," the elder monk finished, "is what happened to _that._"

Everyone else followed the direction of her pointed finger. In the distance, they could see the towering mass that was the Palace of Earth Spirits, and just beyond that, the village of Former Hell. But there was one thing that was very, very, _very_ wrong with it.

It was _dark._

That wasn't right. That was never right! The Capital of Former Hell was dominated by the party-loving, roughhousing oni – even in the dead of night, the lanterns would be lit, there would be celebration over… whatever happened to be going on at the time, the streets would be bustling – the Capital was never silent. _Ever._ There was always at least someone on the streets, a particularly rambunctious youkai who was booted out the nearest tavern, maybe even a few visitors.

But it was _dark._

Reimu squinted before quickly breaking into a run. "That's… not natural. We've got to see what's going on."

"I think we're all in agreement." Myouren cast a quick glance to the one beside him.

Konngara was fuming. Sheathing her odachi, the samurai burst into a sprint, easily outpacing the rest of the group. "When I find who did this, they are going to _pay_…!"

"Kon – Meira-san! Wait–" Too late. The Astral Knight had already vanished into the labyrinthine Capital. Byakuren sighed before simply increasing her pace.

**– TOUHOU –**

Goukei raised the sake dish to his lips, savouring the taste before tossing away the now-empty plate. "Delicious. Too bad no one else is here to enjoy it with. Say what you will, getting wasted's only good when there's other people who you can fuck up." He glanced at Darius next to him. The gunslinger still almost never moved of his own volition, instead choosing to simply stare into empty space. "You don't count."

Taking out his phone, he tried thumbing in the number to Lewis' cell. No signal. Go figure – Hell's reception only extended to calls between shinigami. "Damn. Looks like I'll have to get outta here later." Disappearing briefly into one of the taverns of the ghost town, the ex-shinigami returned with several bottles of alcoholic beverages. He wasted a moment to wave away some of the spirits floating about. "Huh. Seems like the only others here are these little guys."

Reaching up, he grabbed a small spirit as it tried to float away. Carefully keeping it cupped in his palm, he held it up to his face. "Hey, little guy. Whatcha doin'?"

It burbled uncomfortably and tried to wriggle free.

"Come on, man." Goukei clasped his hands tighter, squeezing the spirit. "Look here, I need you to tell me what happened to everyone here.

A warbling, bubbly noise.

The oni smiled. "Good boy." For a moment, he listened as it continued on in its strange language of chirps and squeaks. He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, yeah, I can see that happening. Thanks for the info, pal. I'll put in a word for ya down at the office for what that's worth, a'ight?"

Then, opening his hands, he let the small ghost free. It circled him briefly with a chirp of gratitude before floating away to join its brethren above.

Goukei chuckled as it vanished into the crowd of spirits – the only things still residing in the area besides him. "Cute little fuckers, I'll tell you that." Getting up, he pulled his scythe free of the ground, twirling it once before strapping it to his back and turning to Darius. "A'ight, time to get going. Come on, up you–" He glanced up from the reluctant gunslinger and, for the first time, realized they weren't alone. "Oh, _fuck_ me."

"You!" Reimu leapt onto a table, dramatically pointing her gohei. Flanking her, everyone prepared for action, but didn't dare move until the miko did. Eventually, she merely tilted her head. "Who are you again?"

Goukei's eye flitted back and forth between the various people presented to him. It briefly flicked to Reimu, rested on Byakuren, skimmed past Utsuho – and dilated when it fell on Konngara.

_"Jesus H. Christ on a motorbike."_

With a flare of his cloak, the ex-shinigami whipped around, snatched up the gunslinger's body, and _tore ass_ down the street. "No way! All of you stay the hell away, got it!?"

Reimu wasted exactly one second being confused before simply rolling with it and giving chase. "After him!"

The oni rushed around the corner, stumbling before regaining his balance. Looking around frantically, he realized he was in a dead end. "Fuck!" A look behind him as the footsteps grew closer, then at the walls around him. His scowl turned to a smile as he raised a hand, clenched it – and slammed his fist into the wall, fingers biting into the concrete as he tore the entire wall out to block the path. Snickering as he heard the telltale _thunk_ of a body slamming into a solid wall, the ex-shinigami leapt up and twisted, his leg extended in a powerful roundhouse as brilliant scarlet hellfire burst to life around him.

_BOOM!_

Stretching his legs briefly, Goukei leapt over the sunken rubble just as his makeshift barricade went down behind him. "Holy hell, guys! Why chase me!? Dammit, I just wanna do at least _one_ job without it all going up shit creek without a paddle, is that too much to ask!?"

"Tell us what you know!" He turned back as Reimu leapt up, slamming an amulet against his chest. The enchanted paper briefly stunning him, the miko drew back and lashed out, her side kick knocking him to the ground. "What happened to Former Hell?"

"I don't know!" That was a blatant lie – for the record, he _did_ know. Reaching to his back with one hand, Goukei swung with the scythe, forcing back Reimu as he got back up. "And I'll be damned if I told you!" His feet kicking up dust from the earth as he moved, the ex-shinigami was careful to keep Reimu at arm's length as he continued scuffing something into the dirt.

He glanced towards the alleyway. The others would be here soon, _very_ soon. Sliding foot suddenly stopping and digging in, Goukei lunged forward, a flare of hellfire sending Reimu to the ground as he slammed the butt of his scythe into the ground.

_"Death God Arcanum – Highest Rebellion to the Queen of Death!"_

The bottom tip embedded in the middle of the markings he had made with his feet, the runes lit up. High above them, the spirits lazily floating about wavered – and plunged, a spectral tidal wave bearing down on them. Pulling the scythe free, Goukei shouldered Darius before turning and running again. His enemies made to give chase, but fell back as the spectral mass swept down, ghostly spirits rushing at them and smacking them back and forth between each other. Receding, the spirits gathered, condensing into an incredibly dense singular mass. Then, slowly, it began to take shape.

The spectral mass _bulged_, four limbs pulling themselves free of its core. Two legs, briefly exposed before the sweeping robes covered them. A left arm encased in a titanic mechanism, only glimpsed before it too was hidden from sight. A featureless right arm, save for the elaborate scar wrapping around the shoulder. In its grip, a colossal scythe, the blade cloaked in blazing hellfire. At its feet, the runes expanded, and at its head, the titan's features were darkened, its massive hood leaving only a single glowing gold eye visible in the depths.

Goukei's spectral projection was completed, the colossus just as tall as any building in the city. Raising a foot, it slammed that same foot against the ground, cracks running across the ground as the land shook.

Surprisingly, Utsuho was the first to snap out of it. With a flap of her wings, the hell raven ascended to the peak of a hut, everyone else silently agreeing to scatter in her wake. Reimu leapt into the air and pushed off of a building's walls, her flight quickly asserting itself. The two monks exchanged a look before leaping to the side in opposite directions, the crevasses tearing at the ground. As for Futo, she simply jumped up after Okuu, securing her grip around her boot as they took off.

Only Konngara seemed unfazed by the attack, even as the gaping trenches erupted with magma and fire. Grinning, she unsheathed the Muramasa once more. "Heh… Classic move."

The colossus raised its scythe, an impossibly large weapon swinging back and then around, the ghostly blade even hacking through any of every building in its path. The Astral Knight laughed – and _jumped,_ the blade passing just under her as it swept by.

Landing on the flat of the blade, she yelled to the others, "Cripple the shinigami's summon! I'll kill it personally!" Then, the gigantic scythe reaching the end of its arc, she slid down the handle of the weapon, kicking off to land on its shoulder. _"Go!"_

**– TOUHOU –**

Goukei caught his breath as he finally came to a proper halt at the entrance to Former Hell by the Geyser. Thankfully, Parsee was nowhere to be seen during his journey across it. Whether that was because she was captured or simply hiding, he didn't know.

"Okay, okay…" He panted to himself as he shrugged Darius off his shoulder and began gently slapping his face. "Come on, up you get. Wake up, pal." He knocked on his forehead. "Hello? Knock, knock?"

Then, reaching up to flap Darius' jaw like a puppet to mime: _Who's there?_

"Surprise."

_Surprise who?_

"Surprise, motherfu–"

_CRACK!_

"Whoops!" Goukei surveyed the damage he accidentally did. "… I don't think human jaws are supposed to look like that. Shit." He wrenched the dislocated piece back into place as best as he could. "God, I'm so sorry, man. I really, really didn't mean to do that. Um, maybe Lyon can fix it. Yeah, that'll work!"

_CRACKKK!_

"Huh?" The oni held up Darius' broken arm, waving it back and forth in his face. "… Well, fucknuggets." Dropping the gunslinger's arm, he sighed and rubbed his temple. "A'ight, Goukei. Focus. What'd Lyon say it was again? Zebra – um, Zubenelgel – goddammit!" He snapped his fingers. "Right! _That's_ what it was!" Pressing two fingers against Darius' forehead, he reached up to the sash covering his other eye, letting the cloth fall away. His tongue spoke in a forgotten language, arcane magic flowing with every word. Formerly hidden, the Eye of Medusa sparked, emerald light shining from its infathomable depth. Beneath them, a set of gold and purple runes rapidly formed as he finally concluded the chant.

_"… Reawaken, Alpha Librae… Zubenelgenubi."_

**– TOUHOU –**

Lyon barely reacted as the monochrome runes formed around them, instead completely immersed in his work. At his fingertips, fine silver string hung, glittering at their tips as they faded into nothingness near the bottom. In his other hand, a set of cross-like needles, each carefully inserted into Darius' back. With every twitch of his fingers, every pinpoint stab of the black needle, the chains shifted, gradually loosening.

"… Lyon."

He nodded. "Yes?"

"The hell is going on?"

Lyon put down the black needles, reaching into his suit. Wrapping a length of silver silk around each finger, he flicked his wrist, the ends disappearing into nothingness as he resumed his work. "Your freedom… or most of it."

The gunslinger raised an eyebrow. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Watch." With a final tug of his hands, the chains were brutally wrenched free, their links shattered as the string suddenly reformed, its silver lines wrapped tightly around the chains. In some places, it had even cut clean through the chains itself, thick black smog emitting from the broken ends.

Lyon narrowed his eyes as he raised his arms, the string returning to his palms before blasting into the dream dimension itself, the very limits of the sky punctured by his magic. Another heaving pull, and the dimension _shattered_ like glass, fragments spiralling away into nothingness.

Around them, the fragments reformed, bleaching and extending to once more collect in the form of Darius' dream… only different. The black sea beneath, an opaque pure white mist above. And yet, floating on the ocean like patches of oil, were white lakes and rivers, flowing easily over the black ocean just beneath them. And above, curling through the white mist, was black smog, carving a mindless path through the mist.

"You'll only have limited control." Lyon finally lowered his arms. "After all, our friend has a dealership we can't go back on either."

"So long as he doesn't pull the shit he did last time, I'm good with it."

"He can't." He nodded to the gunslinger's torso. Previously unnoticed by Darius, there was still one last chain tied to him – one he thought he'd removed! "But neither can you."

"Hold on. This wasn't part of our deal."

"It most certainly was." Lyon turned, waving a hand carelessly as he walked away. "You asked for freedom, and I will supply."

The black sea suddenly came to a boil, the thick water reaching up like grasping hands to tug Darius under the surface. The gunslinger looked up, his hands scrabbling at the edge of the water as it tried to drag him down. His hand finally closed around a single white band on the surface. Glaring up, Darius met Lyon's eyes. The man merely shook his head. "Goodbye, Darius Loyhrs."

And he was gone.

As the waters settled, Lyon smiled.

"Welcome back to the land of illusion."


	11. Attack on Death God

**Oh MAN, there is a lot of words this chapter. I actually feel quite proud of it. Fun fact, it was _exactly_ 4200 words before this A/N. The more you know!**

**Ziden115: You love him. I love him. We all love him, right up until he yells at us to shut our whore mouths and drop kicks us through twenty floors. I'll be honest, I haven't the slightest who the Marvel Horsemen are. I am way too sheltered 3:**

**Actually, Conquest and Pestilence tend to be fairly confused. For the most part, it's commonly portrayed as Pestilence because it's inferred that that is his power, but the original excerpt implies his name is Conquest. Only Death is the Horseman who actually was "named" in Revelations. True story.**

**Tez7: Lyon/Geppetto are supposed to be based off of common phobias. Needles, dolls, they may or may not receive clown masks at some point, or spider body parts, I dunno... yeah, they're pretty creepy. If it makes you feel any better, imagine their puppets like fumo plushies. I think I just ruined their image forever. Crap.**

**Anyways, enjoy some _Seventh Heaven MAXION_ and their "Kazamuki" track! Ah, Seventh Heaven... such an incredible circle... :D**

**– TOUHOU –**

_"You've come far, child."_

_Julian closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "I have."_

_"Your journey has taken you across the world. America, Russia, England, Japan… but you still haven't seen all that you must."_

_He raised his head, gazing into the inky darkness around him. It shifted, flowing like a dark sheet in the wind, rippling with every intonation and declaration._

_"Your growth is not over, no matter how much you may wish it."_

_"I understand." Carved into his back, the Wildcard's Mark steamed, searing like an iron pressed against his back._

_"See more, Julian Meliss. Know euphoria. Know sorrow. Know agony."_

_The darkness receded, opening into a vast, desolated cathedral. The roof had long caved in, the walls given way. Shattered stained glass was scattered across the floor. Splattered wildly across the floor and walls were bloodstains, time having darkened them to mere stains. High above them, a bell began to toll._

_"Do so, and be absolved of your sin, child."_

_The agent dipped his head ever so slightly. "For you – not for this. I will not fight for this cause."_

_"No force can bring back the dead, child."_

_Julian scowled. "I understood twenty years ago."_

_"Twenty years ago, you made a pact with a monster. Now, I offer you redemption. Go, and understand what the world truly holds for you..."_

**– TOUHOU –**

Julian blinked slowly, wincing at the harsh light above him. Getting up, he noticed he was on some sort of low-lying mattress as he rubbed his head. An open window was nearby him, a soft wind blowing through. Tucked into the corner was a small round table, a thick red book lying face-down on top of it. Next to the door was some sort of cabinet. What was this place?

His head was fuzzy. Grunting softly, he tried to recall what had happened. Something about a plane fight – oh, right. That's what happened to him. Well, it'd at least explain all of the bandages he was wrapped up in. Really, any more and he probably could have qualified for a mummy.

_At the very least,_ he thought as he pulled himself into a sitting position, _I'm not dead._ He gingerly stood up and took a few steps forward. So far, so good. So he could still walk. Sitting down at the small table, he grabbed the book out of curiosity, pulling a bookmark from it and reading a section at random.

_And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see…_

Flipping it shut, he opened the cover page to see who this copy of the Bible belonged to.

_Yumemi Okazaki._

Huh?

A hand reached around his shoulder and plucked the book out of his hands. Yumemi frowned as she bopped him over the head lightly with it. "It's great that you've recovered, Julian, but please don't touch my things without my permission."

"Sorry."

"It's no problem," said the professor.

Just then, there was a knocking on the door. A female voice came from the other side, but Julian couldn't quite understand it. "What's she saying?"

"Hm? Right, you can't speak Japanese…" Yumemi opened the door, revealing a black-winged girl on the other side. "I'll be back in a moment."

"Hold on, I–"

The door was shut.

Julian lowered his outstretched hand. "… Dammit." Pulling away, he tried interesting himself with the window. Outside, he could see other people similar to that black-winged girl, though some had… dog ears and tails? What kind of crack was he on?

Sadly, even that sight quickly became boring. Really, it was just a bunch of commuters going about their daily life, just with a couple extra attachments. Pulling his head back, Julian leaned back in his chair and blew out a long breath. How long was Yumemi going to take?

He poked his head through the window again. "Excuse me," he said to one of the passing dog girls below.

She turned, a large scimitar and shield on her back (how did she even carry that!?). _"Hai?"_

Julian faltered. He already forgot he couldn't even talk to these people. "Sorry, um, never mind. Forget it."

The guard below his window tilted her head. _"Aa, anata wa eigodesu ka?"_

The agent shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry; I don't understand what you're saying."

_"Eigo o hanasemasu ka?"_ She facepalmed. _"Eigo? En-glish."_

"Oh!" Julian started as he finally heard a familiar term. "Yeah! Yeah. I speak English. Do you have anyone here who can speak it, too?"

She nodded. _"Matta kudasai – shitsurei shimasu…"_

"Hey!" Julian could only watch as she turned and ran down the street. "Wait! I don't – damn." Throwing himself back, he growled. "Great job, Julian. Re~al smooth…"

Calming himself slightly, he took a look around, his eyes falling on the drawer by the door once again. Getting up slowly, he pressed an ear against the door. No voices or footsteps. Julian wavered for one brief moment before throwing himself to the ground, trying each cabinet in turn. Come on, come on, one of them has to be unlocked…!

_Click._

There's one!

Pulling a sheaf of papers from inside the cabinet, he began rifling through them at random. There was one labelled "MEDICAL RECORDS: J. MELISS". Pulling that one out, he placed the rest of them back into the cabinet and slid it shut. Sitting back down, Julian flipped through the pages, looking for some answers as his eyes skipped back and forth, looking for the few sections written in English.

_… Meliss retained for two weeks, has not awoken. Possibility of a coma remains valid… Eientei unavailable to public, Meliss is to be treated until recovery and… shows signs of high brain activity. Despite breakage of both arms and left leg, lung punctured by rib, rib cage broken, right shoulder dislocated, concussions, internal bleeding, and dysfunctional cardiovascular system (heart), is confirmed to be steadily recovering at a pace far surpassing standard humans… further testing reveals… human heritage. No evidence of youkai blood is apparent from the sample taken…_

And, written in the margins in a neat yet crammed handwriting – _Incredible._

_Scar shows no sign of recovery – all healing magic and technology has failed… may prove to be beneficial… possibly recover naturally, given time… Kawashiro Tech has refused to supply due to war restriction, though Meliss remains stable… Emergency cardiovascular surgery performed by Professor Yumemi Okazaki after condition turned critical. Unknown device implanted in lieu of failing heart following its expiration during surgery… all attempts to analyse device are failures… proposed by Nitori to be a "pacemaker" of some sort… anesthetic successful, but brain remained highly active. Meliss presumed to remain unconscious, surgery initiated… Extreme fibrillation, followed by complete cardiac arrest prompted Okazaki's transplant despite lack of replacement…_

"She's a surgeon, too?" Julian muttered to himself as he continued searching the papers. "You learn more every day…"

_Heart… disappeared through means unknown… secure position and kept safe for future analysis… all attempts failed. Meliss' heart reacted… exponential growth, prompting temporary evacuation… Shameimaru's records lost in fire, all salvageable fragments rendered ineligible…_

Unconsciously, Julian pressed a hand against his chest. Just underneath the thin layer of gauze, he could feel his heartbeat. No, not heartbeat. But then what was it? Strange – he didn't _feel_ very different. In pain, yes. Stiff, yes. But he shouldn't even be awake right now. What happened?

He felt at the lightning fractal running across his back. It seemed to be the only thing that had changed. It was _calm._ Why was it calm?

"What… did I just tell you?" Yumemi's hand clapped down on his shoulder.

He shuddered as he felt her breath on the back of his neck. "Um… I plead the Fifth?"

"It doesn't apply here." Rolling her eyes, Yumemi helped him up and put away the medical records, making sure to lock it up. "… almost childlike…"

"Hey, I heard that!"

She smirked. "Well, at any rate, it seems you're about healthy enough." Bringing him out into the hall, the professor rapped a few knuckles on his head.

"Ow!"

"Alright, you seem stable."

"What was that for?" Julian protested as he followed her. "You can't call that a medical examination?"

"If we did an _actual_ physical, I would have to do many things neither of us would be comfortable with."

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh. _Oh._"

"So you can see why I didn't."

"You stuffed your hands into my rib cage and rearranged my organs." Julian paused. "Now that I think about it, where'd you even learn that?"

"My university," she muttered. Yumemi didn't seem interested in pursuing this topic. "That–"

The both of them froze as a bright light flashed in front of them. Blinking spots out of their eyes, the two of them stumbled as Aya flew past them. _"Arigatou, baka~!"_

_"Aya-san!"_ Yumemi began to chase the crow tengu, but tripped as Aya turned, a high-power blast of wind knocking her flat onto her butt. _"Kisamaaa!"_

**– TOUHOU –**

**[We're going there, shut up: Attack on Titan – Guren no Yumiya]**

Byakuren deftly leapt to the next rooftop, throwing out an arm. Golden light lanced out, blasting away the spirits chasing her. As another hailstorm of spirit danmaku rained down, she leapt out of the way. Standing back up, she realized she'd let herself into a trap, the spirits surrounding her now pressing in. No chance to escape –

_BOOM!_

The monk coughed as smoke erupted around her, clouding her view. Just through the thick cloud, she could see her brother's form lowering his hand, swinging it out behind him to backhand a spirit trying to sneak up on him. "Thank you, nii-san!"

"Don't mention it!" Myouren hit the deck as the colossal scythe roared over his head, the wind whistling as it passed over him. Even as he watched, Goukei's colossus roared, its fresh wounds bubbling and steaming. Spirits poured from it like water, but they quickly congealed into smaller, faster versions of their original to continue the attack. Raising his arm to block its swing, he rushed towards one of the smaller spirit summons, this one only as tall as a regular human. Slamming a boot against its head, he brought his foot down, the spirits popping out from under his sole and burbling angrily from the sidelines as he rushed off. Myouren leapt into the air, pressing a foot against another shrunken summon's head to kick himself into the air, landing on the original's robes as it moved through the city.

Goukei's colossus bellowed as the Muramasa plunged into its flesh time and again. Konngara watched grimly as the spirits fountained out, rapidly pooling into smaller versions of the ex-shinigami and attacking her. Retrieving the odachi, the Astral Knight easily lunged, hacking through their spectral forms with ease. The problem wasn't power, or speed, it was exhaustion. Not even she could keep this up forever.

"Keep pressing!" Konngara yelled to the others. "They'll never stop coming. Focus on the original summon!" The samurai held up a hand as Utsuho touched down on the colossus' shoulder next to her – was that shikaisen being given a piggyback ride? "No, you two keep doing what you're doing. We still need _someone_ keep the small ones down. But the rest of you, come on!"

Okuu nodded. On her back, Futo pulled herself a little higher as well. With a powerful flap of the wings, they took to the air, flying high above the colossus' head as they rained flaming destruction on it. Goukei's colossus staggered, the assault steadily battering it down. With every fireball that made contact, every laser carving into its body, another burst of spirits would erupt. It raised its scythe, the spectral blade swooping through the air after them.

_"Eek!"_ Utsuho flipped upside down, the blade of the scythe just barely passing over her. A sudden tug on her back nearly threw them both back to the ground. "Prithee, a warning before thy next barrel roll?"

"Um, alright!"

Beneath them, the colossus growled lowly. In the depths of its hood, both eyes flared, one gold, one green. At its feet and scattered throughout the Capital of Former Hell, the shrunken versions of Goukei simultaneously froze. As one, they turned to the air and snarled. Their ethereal figures shimmered – and melted away, hundreds of spirits falling to the ground like water and rushing towards their original's feet. It raised its scythe, tossing it into the air as it too melted away, another wave of souls rushing outwards like water through a crumbling dam.

Reimu whipped around as Utsuho yelled in surprise – and was sent spinning head over heels through the air as a jet of spirits was launched directly at her. Spluttering in surprise as they battered her barrier, she yelled, "What is this, a water gun for undead titans!?"

Myouren reeled as the fabric shifted in his grip. Like everything else this man had summoned, it was made of spirits, and they definitely weren't happy about having him rubbing his hands all over them. Every time he moved, black steaming scorch marks in the robe showed exactly where his hands had been as he slowly scaled the colossus. He noticed a strange tugging on the cloth, one that he wasn't doing. He looked down. "… Byakuren?"

She nodded. "Just keep climbing!" Turning around, she kept herself hanging with a single hand, the other carrying her vajra as she dispelled another swarm of spirits. "There's just too many of them. Surely, it's not infinite, right?"

"Of course not." Myouren kept his focus on climbing this sheer cliff face that happened to be moving. "That'd be impossible. It's likely that this summon is comprised of thousands and controls them in a hive-mind fashion. Whenever we injure the original form, it… breaks up… into smaller…"

"Nii-san, are you alright?"

Myouren watched as the samurai weaved through the two scythes on either side of her, both small shinigami cutting into each other with their blades. He skidded down the surface, pulling himself to a stop right next to her. "Nee-san. I have a plan."

Konngara watched as the two monks dropped back to the ground, seemingly abandoning their previous task. "What are those two doing…?" she muttered idly. A frustrated growl reminded her that she still had a fight to fight. "Oh, right. Sorry." With a single fluid movement, the samurai withdrew her Muramasa to throw the small Goukei off-balance before whipping around in the other direction, the sword effortlessly cutting through ethereal flesh. Yet another shrunken summon paled and melted away, the spirits it was made up of floating away in a daze.

For the briefest instant, a huge shadow loomed over her just as Goukei's colossus slammed its fist shut around her, holding her up to its hooded face. Beneath the shadows, a gold and green light sparked, magic gathering as it prepared to tear her apart at point-blank range. The samurai gritted her teeth. This was going to hurt…!

_BOOM!_

Reimu held onto Konngara carefully by the back of her collar, Okuu and Futo zipping by overhead. "Caught her!" Below them, the colossus howled, its wrist torn nearly down to nothing, thin spectral sinews keeping the hand attached. As the miko deposited her load on a nearby rooftop, they watched as the last few strands snapped, the massive appendage falling to the ground with an earth-shaking crash. "You alright?"

"Yes. Thank you… Reimu-san." Her head snapped up as Goukei's colossus growled. At its feet, the severed hand bubbled beneath the "skin", a growing pool of ghosts forming beneath it. Slowly, a slightly smaller oni appeared from its depths. As it looked up to its larger brethren, it extended a hand. The two ex-shinigami clasped hands, a river of energy flowing between them as one shrunk – and the other grew. Konngara cursed. "They're regenerating! Stop them!"

The two of them were now of equal size, both slightly shorter than the tallest buildings. As one, they dug their fingers into the foundations of one such building, tearing it free with an echoing roar. Heaving it over their shoulders, they leaned back and tossed the entire building, one end flipping over the other as it howled down the street.

Miko and samurai turned to eac other, a silent plan exchanged between them. With a single nod, they executed their counterattack, the Astral Knight raising her odachi high above her head. "If this fails, I'll kill you in the afterlife again!"

"Tell me when that time comes around!" Reimu yelled back. Jamming her gohei into the ground to free up both hands, she began her chant, runes appearing around her as her spell was prepared.

Konngara narrowed her eyes as the building loomed closer and closer. It was almost there, barely any distance from them, a split second from crushing them…!

In her hands, the Muramasa erupted like a high-pressure geyser, blazing red light forming into a far larger, far deadlier ethereal sword. With an incredible swing, she brought it crashing into the entire building – and _stopped_ it, her momentum and magic channelled into her target and stopping it dead in its tracks. The brief shell of red magic was dispelled just as quickly as it had formed, crashing impotently against the building like waves against a cliff face, but that was all she needed to do. Rushing forward beside her, the miko lashed her arm out, the runes beneath her sparking to life as she did.

_"Divine Spirit – Fantasy Seal!"_

A flurry of multicoloured orbs formed around them, forming an impenetrable barrier for a brief moment. Then, it split, countless barrages breaking away and smashing against the concrete time and again. With each hit, another crack as torn open in the solid wall until it gave way, the building crumbling away underneath Reimu's fabled spell card. As it crumbled, they could see the flabbergasted titans on the other side, completely baffled by the unorthodox tactic.

At the same time, they split up and dashed to the side, their forms breaking apart into their base components as they moved. Twin floods rushed through the streets, rapidly circling around to the other side before reforming, both summons collecting themselves and leaping to the attack.

"Focus them down one at a time," said Konngara. "We can deal with the other one later!"

"Okuu-san!" Reimu called out to the hell raven and pointed at one of the two approaching titans. Futo and Utsuho glanced over once and nodded, all four of them preparing their attacks. "Take it apart!"

As they dashed, Goukei's two summons dug their heels in, dust clouds kicked high into the air as they skidded to a halt. The dust clouds expanded quickly, masking them from sight as their forms broke apart once again, melting away and crashing to the ground. Pooling into one form once more, the newly reformed mass shot through the dust, a single spectral spear lancing clean through to the other side.

Reimu's eyes widened. _"SCATTER!"_

It blasted by them, smashing into another building before falling to the ground. Hundreds of spirits coalesced, rapidly building themselves back into the form of their original summon. Konngara wasted no time, jumping off the side of a building to scale the regenerating colossus, her odachi carving a swath across its body as she went. Her companions followed suit, all leaping back to the attack.

Despite the barrage, Goukei's colossus gathered itself once more, one titanic hand swatting them away like flies. Reimu gasped as her breath was knocked out of her. "Holy f – what is this thing _made of!?_" A low laughter started up next to her. "Um… Meira-san, is that you?"

"Haa…" The Astral Knight rose to her feet, grabbing the Muramasa from the ground. "It's been a while since I got a fight this good. I have to say, it's pretty refreshing." Feet slamming against the earth, the samurai returned to the offensive, ready to take down this colossus. "Come on, then!"

It howled, one hand drawn back as it met her match eagerly. Around the prepared fist, a blazing light began to form, ethereal will-o-wisps condensing as it prepared to swing. Green and gold eyes ignited as it took one, two thunderous steps forward, ready to smash this puny samurai from existence.

Just then, two jets of gold light exploded from around its shoulder, rapidly moving along the limb and shrinking before completely severing the appendage.

"What the–!?" Konngara stomped a foot and twisted, jumping to the side as the severed arm fell to the ground. Waving away the dust, she watched as two beams of light twisted along the colossus' body, moving to the other arm and repeating the same process, rapidly hacking away the limb.

"Whew…" Beside her, the dust was blown away as Byakuren skidded to a halt out of her speed dash, Myouren following suit opposite her. "Preparation took a while. We'll take it from here."

"Everything's good to go." The enigmatic monk flicked his hand, golden light crackling around it. "Ready, nee-san?"

"Ready, nii-san." Byakuren flipped her scroll into the air, the enchanted light spilling out from behind her as she drew two vajras, an energised blade springing forth from both.

Goukei's colossus snarled, its severed limbs melting away to reform into several smaller versions of their original. The flash mob bore down on them – and was scattered as they were shredded like paper, the monks' countless enhancement spells allowing them to effortlessly blast through the mob. Weaving through the crowd at incredible speed, Byakuren leapt up, easily running on their heads before jumping towards their host colossus and digging both swords into its spectral skin, flipping herself over and onto the hilt. Using it like a stepping stone, she quickly repeated the process, stabbing in energised blades as she made her way to the top of the colossus.

Hot on her heels, Myouren grabbed one of the spectres, throwing it into the air and jumping after it. Pushing off of the small summon like a springboard, he thudded heavily against Goukei's colossus, rapidly climbing to the top. Helpless to defend itself, the titan roared in agony as they cut into it time and again, crashing to its knees and allowing the countless smaller forms to flood in like a swarm.

Byakuren and Myouren both ground to a halt at the shoulders of Goukei's colossus. Throwing her spare vajra to her brother, they turned to the disabled colossus, swords at the ready. "Time to finish this."

Kicking off, they effortlessly left their pursuers in the dust, the colossus' spectres easily outpaced by their quarry. Sprinting along the back of the colossus, both monks drew their blades back and brought it crashing down on its neck. For one brief moment, the golden light grated harmlessly against the thickened mass of spirits – before cutting clean through as it gave way, hacking open the colossus' throat. Leaping down either side of the colossus' head, Byakuren and Myouren kept their blades held steady along its neck as they hit the ground, spirits flowing from the gaping wound. The abused vajras finally cutting out as their power faded, Byakuren dusted off her hands as she surveyed the carnage.

"Well, I think that's enough work for the day."

**– TOUHOU –**

_He reached out for the light, a hand outstretched towards something he could never reach. Even as he watched, it collapsed before his eyes, the darkness consuming it without remorse nor cruelty. Simply nothing. Absolutely nothing._

_His feet tread on air, running for the salvation that might never come. With every step that brought him closer, it seemed to drift a little further away. No matter how long he ran, he might never even reach it. It always danced just outside of his grasp, taunting him, teasing him._

_There was no sound. None whatsoever. His gasps for breath made no sound. His feet, hitting the ground time and again, made no sound. It was complete and utter silence. It was nothing. All he knew was that light, a uniform white waiting for him at the end of the road. His muscles ached, but he had no muscles. He reached out with his arm, but he had no arm. He gasped for breath, but he had no lungs. It was a world of the impossible, made possible. A paradox given tangible form._

_It no longer pulled away from him. He fell through, crashing over the border as the unseen land gave way below him. With no more support, he fell. Fell, from nothing, into nothing. Fell, through something, out of something._

_He fell, and fell for eternity._


	12. She from Beyond

**Ohohoho-MAN, has it been a while! Whazzup, ladies and gents!? Terry 'n Muse all up in the club, and we got a spankin' hot new chapter oh my god I can't keep speaking like this. It hurts just writing this.**

**Anyways, I got distracted by a reawoken love for Touhou Hisoutensoku and a new indie game called One Finger Death Punch. It's awesome, go try it out. I also got around to finally using the Walfas engine to create some cover pages for the Boundless Universe Series! The BUS? The BUS. Family and friends, all aboard the BUS.**

**... If you board this BUS, I will be very disappointed in you. The Yakumo Express is over there...**

**BokusuKanon: *evil laughter* You'll never get caught back up! _NEVER!_ But really, hoping you get around to it soon. Best of luck on your archive binge!**

**Ziden115: 3 words. NOT-OVER-YET**

**NHK: Oh, there you are! Hi! Haha, yeah, we do our best. I write the action, Muse does dialogue... we usually just have different people fight each time so we don't run everyone ragged. Unless we want to, of course!**

**Well, enough out of me. Buckle up, folks, keep your arms and legs in the seat, and enjoy the ride!**

**– TOUHOU –**

Julian limped into the room slowly, carefully balancing his weight between his legs and crutch. He should probably be thankful that he was walking at all… but still! "Yumemi? I'm here."

Yumemi lowered her book, peering at him over the rim of her reading glasses. "You're here. Great. Pull up a chair – we'll have a talk." Her eyes lingered on him for one moment too long before returning to her notes. "While you've been recovering, I started digging up some dirt on those people we've met recently."

"And what did you find?" Julian slumped into the soft chair, briefly taking a glance outside. That one "tengu" guard – Momiji – was passing by below. Catching his eye, she stopped to wave. He waved back.

"The little war down at the village is still happening." Yumemi flipped through the pages slowly. "Our hosts have sworn to stay neutral in this whole thing, so there's no worry about getting attacked… though it's worth noting they asked us to leave as soon as you've fully recovered."

"I guess that's fair…"

"Fair's one word to describe it." Pushing her glasses a little higher, Yumemi cleared her throat. "Get comfortable, Julian. This might take a while – Gensokyo is a _very_ big nation…"

**– TOUHOU –**

_Thunder Genesis._

_It sounded simple enough – on paper, at least. Four hand-picked individuals, chosen by the Master and christened the "Harbingers". Each one tailored to perfection in their personal field. Their brains rewired, their skills honed to the very edge, their senses pushed beyond their limits. In doing so, an apotheosis of man would occur within these individuals and rebirth humanity with these four seeds. Sounds simple enough._

_The only problem was applying it, my friend._

_If it was as easy as that, the Master would have done it in a heartbeat four millennia ago. We would never need another Garden of Eden. But every man that is born into this world is forced to feast on the forbidden fruit and so can never achieve what the Master intended. All failures were disposed of, notes taken and experiments applied again. Rinse and repeat for hundreds, thousands, millions._

_It continued to fail. Not because of the rigorous training they were subject to. Not because of the inscription of the Master's Blessing. Thunder Genesis is as a tree, and without healthy roots, it cannot grow._

_We couldn't use these flawed humans. We had to start from scratch, and it worked. The Master forged bodies of clay, hearts of metal and souls of fire. Life was breathed into them, and they awoke, and on each and every last one of them, the Master's Blessing was already in place. We could have the Earth baptised in fire, and born anew as it was intended to be. We could have another Eden, and _that _is the purpose of Thunder Genesis._

_… Or at least, as close as we could get._

_Even after rejecting the flawed body of man. Even after creating untainted souls, and an appropriate host for them. Even after three millennia of relentless searching, we still had only one Harbinger!_

_It was hopeless. In the end, it was decided by the Master herself that rather than waste time on such a goal, we should set our sights lower. Man crawled before he walked, and so must we. As it was, we could only go so far before we were stopped. The fruits of Eden still haunt us to this day, and that might be something we can never escape. But perhaps we don't have to. Maybe, just maybe, we can take this fruit and twist it to our ends. Everything that was brought crashing down on humanity, we can take it and we can use it._

_Sensory deprivation. Madness. Hell. Infinity. All the things man has assumed to be incomprehensible, arcane or even blasphemous, we can use it. They avert their eyes, and we open ours wide. Do you understand me? At the end of time, they will burn away, and we shall behold the rebirth of Eden. With everything that humans despise, we shall only grow stronger from it. That is our purpose. That is Thunder Genesis._

_We expect great things from all of you. Not as humans, but as ascendants. As the recipients of the Master's Thunder Genesis program, you must…_

Lazarus sneered. Kicking the door shut, she marched over to the fireplace and tossed the papers into it. "'Eden' my ass, Conquest. That's bullshit and you know it."

"Careful, hon. We're still not exactly irreplaceable."

She scowled as she held up a small device to the light, carefully poking a screwdriver into it. "Tell me something I don't know. I still can't believe this. Of all the people who would be the third, she chose _you_?"

"Don't hate the player, hate the game," her associate chuckled.

Lazarus sighed. "I'm in the middle of something right now. Don't you have places to be?"

"In a moment, but not right now. Hey, might as well drop in to say hi whenever I can, right?"

"Sure, but you do realize that Thunder Genesis has been drilled into our brains over the past hundred or so years, right? There's no need to remind me of it."

"Which is why I didn't bring it up when you burnt it." Her associate leaned forward in his chair. "Look here, Lazarus. We've got a couple new candidates, and Wildcard's getting lazy again. I'm just saying that even if the odds of a fuck-up are small as all hell, they can still happen. Best be ready for when it does, right?"

"I suppose so…" She tore open the casing of the device, a pair of pliers in hand. "But what does that have to do with the original plan?"

"Remember all those people Wildcard's been chatting up lately?"

Tossing aside a handful of clipped wires, Lazarus nodded. "Not how I'd put it… but yes."

"You remember what we were told? The host is only an extension – not permanent. Until the Seeds bloom, we'll be stuck in regular old boring human bodies."

"And?"

"She's trying her hand at a different process. Rather than making them from scratch as we've been doing for God knows how long, why not just grab a fresh cadaver and leave Eden's Seed in it?"

Lazarus stiffened. "… They don't have her full Blessing, do they?"

He simply shook his head.

Screwing the lid back on, she sighed heavily. "Guess it's about time after all."

"Yeah, I'd say so."

Grabbing a white wide-brimmed hat from the table, Lazarus put it on as she swapped out her bloodied lab coat for a fresh one. "Still in the Japanese Sanctuary?"

"You think Wildcard doesn't cling to grudges?"

"Good point." Lazarus hesitated at the doorway, glancing back at her companion. "By the way, keep my lab safe while I'm gone. Well, just make sure nobody touches _that. _Remember, the Seeds _have_ to remain pure at any cost."

He clicked his tongue twice. "Gotcha." As the door shut, he shook his head and got up. "What a tool." Heading into the darker back end of the laboratory, he stepped out onto a balcony. Beneath him, a pitch-black maw yawned up at him. "Still can't believe she only got so much done ever since her induction. Oh, well… you can't win 'em all sometimes."

Reaching over, he flicked a single switch. As he did, gears groaned as they moved for the first time in centuries, an almost mournful rumble echoing from beneath. Jets of high-pressure steam erupted as the colossal mechanism slowly moved once more. With a loud creaking groan, conveyor belts moved, boilers ignited, gears spun as the core of Thunder Genesis awoke. Reaching into a pocket, he brought out the small project Lazarus was working on, admiring the glossy sheen of it.

It was a mechanical heart.

He turned his eyes to the various scans of Ehud, still up from the most recent operation on the Blood Lightning. Standing out in harsh bright white, sharp jagged edges and streamlined plating against the smooth, uniform bone. Operation two of Thunder Genesis. Wildcard had good reason to be proud of him – the only example of successful conversion so far…

Turning away from the railing, Goukei flipped his phone open. "Yo. Is Lewis on the line?"

**– TOUHOU –**

Yumemi watched carefully as Julian's face paled. He said, "Wow. _Wow._ That… that's a lot to take in."

"You're doing better than most." The professor chuckled. "Most people I talk to about it either run away screaming in terror or trying to burn me at the stake." A pause. "Or both."

A gasp that might have been a sort-of laugh passed by Julian. "I guess…"

"Don't try to overthink it too much," insisted Yumemi. "I'm a scientist. I've studied this force ever since I was a _teenager _and I still don't understand most of it. For you, just worry about the results."

He nodded shakily. "I'll… I'll see what I can do."

"Well, that's everything." Putting away her glasses, Yumemi yawned. "Excuse me; I've been up all night trying to develop an improved version of – well, it's not important…"

Something clicked in his mind. "Yumemi?"

"Yes?"

"About that surgery you did on me… what did you put in me?"

She froze. "… Come again?"

"I saw the papers. Remember that?" Despite being in no condition to wage a fight, Julian definitely looked about ready to do just that. "Where'd you learn medical process? Where is my heart? What'd you do with it? What'd you replace with it?"

She laughed uneasily. "Come now, Julian. I didn't–"

_"What did you do to me, Yumemi?"_

For a long moment, there was silence in the room. Finally, Yumemi sighed and nodded. "I suppose it'd leak out sooner or later. But first things first – whatever I tell you _cannot_ be let out until my say-so. Got it?"

"If it means I'll get some answers."

The professor sat back down in the chair opposite to him. "And you will. Do I have your word?"

Julian hesitated. "… Yes."

She smiled wearily. "Thank you." Digging into her vest, Yumemi rolled a small orb onto the table. It was about the size of a tennis ball split down the middle by a shallow groove, a hexagram inscribed onto the two halves of it. "Do you know what this is?" His confused look was answer enough. "Of course you haven't. That's because this is the product of a different time, a different place… a different dimension."

His head snapped up in disbelief. "Wait, _what!?_"

Yumemi held up her hand. "It sounds ridiculous, I know. But just one week ago, would you have believed in magic? Believed in walking the border of reality and fantasy? Believed in a world inhabited by humanity's collective beliefs? Believed in surviving a countless thousand-foot drop as you did? Next to that, I'd like to think something as small as interdimensional transport isn't too unbelievable, especially after you've seen me opening dream gates."

"I… suppose that makes sense."

"Again, don't think too far into it." Yumemi tapped a single finger on the surface of the steel orb on the table. It lit up, red light glowing softly in the dip along its circumference and the two hexagrams on its surface. "As for where I learned to perform surgery… At my home, people are expected to graduate from university in their teens. After that, we're expected to pursue further education, whatever that may be. Mechanics, engineering, physics, chemistry, astrology… the list goes on and on."

On the table, the steel orb began floating. With a small click, its parts disassembled, expanding into an elaborate contraption. A large red core at the center, with eight smaller engines spinning around it slowly. Julian watched, mesmerized, as the tiny solar system rotated, light twinkling off the smooth surface.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Yumemi allowed herself a brief chuckle at Julian's awe. "It was a sixth grade project I made a long time ago with my assistant. We could've done better, but…"

"Better? _Better!?_" Julian could barely believe his eyes! "And in _SIXTH GRADE!?"_

"Keep your voice down!" Yumemi hissed.

He caught himself. "Oh, right… sorry…"

"It's fine." Yumemi scratched her head. "That reminds me, my assistant was a girl named Chiyuri Kitashirakawa." She looked around the room, as if expecting the girl to jump out of the woodwork at any moment. "… I'd like to introduce you to her, but until she figures out what made the ionic capacitors malfunction. Unless the macroflux capacitors burned out again, I can't see how all six capacitors could melt down at the same time. It's crazy! I swear, if it turns out she used the hypervessel's calculator to divide by zero again…!" Shaking her head suddenly, Yumemi's face coloured slightly. "I seem to have gone off on a tangent. My apologies."

The agent raised an eyebrow. "It's fine. Carry on?"

"Of course." Yumemi took a moment to clear her throat. "Chiyuri is my junior, but a very talented engineer. It's a regular habit in our schools to exchange education in our spare time. I introduced her to physics, she showed me engineering, it was a thing everyone did. Even Jo did it every once in a while… but I digress." Folding her arms and leaning back in the chair, she continued. "Your heart… well, that's something I compiled with Chiyuri and my prof at the time… Doctor Josef Lazarus, lead researcher of human physiology – even if she only ever focused on psychology. Strange woman, she was… With Chiyuri's framework, Jo's expertise, and my… understanding, we designed a prototype biotech, partly mechanical, partly organic."

"Wait a second." Julian had to clarify. "You were building _cyborgs?_"

"That's one word for it," shrugged the professor. "The potential was endless. Even in our world, humans were still bound to our physical bodies. If we could breach the barrier of life and machine, upload a human's neural network onto a computer, we would grow even greater. Think of it – if your Einstein lived forever, unlocking this universe's secrets without the need for food or rest! You can see why this was so big to us."

"That doesn't make any sense," said Julian. "Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then what did you mean?"

"I mean… well, if this was so important, then why were only you three working on it? Shouldn't all of your scientists and whatnot been working on it with you?"

"I was getting to that. You've probably heard about all the dangers of immortality. A planet infested with a crawling mass of exponentially expanding flesh, suffering forever without any hope for the sweet release of death…" Yumemi flapped a hand. "And so on and so forth. And judging from what I've seen of Earth's movies… _Terminator,_ was it? I think so, yes; you seem quite aware of machines gaining excessive sentience. Our AI could perfectly replicate humans in almost every way, emotions and speech patterns and tics – everything. But it was withheld. I assume you can see why?"

"To prevent the apocalypse?"

"Or something close to it, yes. This is why it had to be done in secret. Any attempts to unify man and machine is always shut down instantly, the perpetrators taken away to… well, I'm not too sure myself. Jo would probably know, but if she did, she never let anything slip. All we knew was that it was B-A-D _bad._"

"But you did it anyways," Julian pointed out.

She sighed. "I did, yes. I joined this project that could have ruined my life or did something worse. Sometimes, sacrifices have to made in the name of progress." Yumemi glanced up. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"No reason. Go on…"

"Alright. That's why we kept this whole thing under wraps. No one else knew, our project was hidden from everyone who was anyone, with the only people who even knew it existed to be the three of us. Sadly, it turns out there's another reason the barrier of man and machine was never breached before us. Namely, it couldn't be done."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. We spent five years studying, poring over each other's textbooks, comparing notes, performing experiments, testing twice and then testing a third time to make sure, and none of it mattered. It was simply… impossible. The closest we could get was the replication of the physical body. The nervous system was what jammed us – specifically, the brain. It was – it _is_ – a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, and we hadn't the key to unlock it. After that, we didn't have a choice but to burn our papers and format our drives. Somehow, word got out that someone in our university was researching biotech…"

"Yumemi?" Julian leaned forward in the chair. "If this is such an important thing, why are you telling me this?"

"Because it's related." A pause; then, "well, also because I don't have to worry about any law enforcement jumping me or anything here. Nonetheless, the three of us met one last time to create a final project – an almost complete cyborg, you might call it. Chiyuri and I split up the data and had it encrypted before wiping our trail. Between us two, we had the only physical copies. Jo never needed our notes. I don't know how she did it, but she somehow memorized the entire thing – or the most important parts, at least. And my half…"

"Just happens to contain the heart files?"

The professor nodded. "Exactly. A standard pacemaker wouldn't have worked for you; by the time I figured out what happened, you were flatlined. All I could do was have you attached to life support and build the biotech heart before your heart… well, collapsed. Literally. That fall did a serious number on you."

"Don't remind me…"

"If nothing else, we got you stabilized. Don't worry; your new heart shouldn't be as flimsy. Regulating heart rate, rapid pulse arc and low resting rate, too! It runs off a cute little quantum generator, took me ages to refine… Anyways, so long as you don't go jumping out of planes again, you should be good to go."

"And my heart?"

"Come again?"

He thumped a fist against his chest and flinched at his own stupidity as pain lanced through his ribs. "Ow… My heart, Yumemi. The one you pulled out during surgery."

"Oh. Right. _That._" She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "About that… I was planning to try and piece it back together however I could, but it sort of fell apart before I could. When I came back for a stem cell sample, it may or may not have vanished on its own overnight." Yumemi winced, waiting for an outburst. Instead all she got was four words.

"… What the actual _fuck_?"


	13. They Call Him Reaper

**And we have returned! Again! Already! We're wizards!**

**We're not wizards.**

**Ziden115: What did you expect? She's a time-travelling dimension-hopping magic-hunting robot-building (that one's canon, she built Ruukoto) teen-prodigal superscientist! And I'll be honest, they didn't lose the heart. Let me put it this way: Which human body part is the core of Thunder Genesis and how does the Seed of Eden interact with it?**

**Tez7: There's probably a lot of taboo sciences. Creating life, destroying life, time travel, immortality, self-aware AI, the list goes on and on. As for Goukei's phone, he actually doesn't have that many contacts on it. Just a handful of them... I actually took a look at quantum physics the other day, out of curiosity. It was a terrible idea.**

**FYI, Julian's heart being "powered" by quantum physics wouldn't work very well because (as far as my understanding is) quantum physics stops working when it's being observed. In this case, attempting to power something with quantum physics would mean some sort of tool would have to try and measure, or "observe", the quantum reactions. If it's observed, it doesn't happen and regular physics takes its place. I dunno, it's just an awful mess. I probably just insulted a huge number of people who _actually_ study quantum physics, too...**

**And just because I might never get a chance to use this theme, I'll place it in my Authors' Pick. I forgot to do one last chapter, so there'll be two this time. In first place is _Frontier Aja_ and their Touhouvania hit, "Afraid"! But coming in at a close second is _Oriens,_ packing "Nightmare &amp; Predawn"! With these songs firing up in the background, let's open another chapter of BWI and let's go!**

**– TOUHOU –**

Julian was _fuming._

"How do you just up and lose an entire human heart!? They don't just grow legs and walk away!"

Yumemi held up her hands defensively. "Don't look at me! I don't know how it happened, either! All we knew was that when I went to scrape up some stem cells from it, it started… mutating? I'm not sure what the word might be…"

The agent rubbed his temples. "So you're telling me that not only did the heart that should be inside of me not only teleported away, it turned into a giant cancer lump while it was at it!?"

"A tumour! Right!" Yumemi snapped her fingers as it came to her. Then she jerked out of her thoughts as she recalled where she was. "Look, I'm just as confused about it as you, alright? I haven't the slightest idea how it happened, either. I froze the heart and put it under lock and key, I stopped you from dying, I did my homework, got good marks, mastered my field of work, threw a party or two – wait. Where am I going with this?" Rapping her knuckles on her head, she let out a small hiss of frustration. _"Focus, Yumemi!"_ A slow, deep breath. "Just… I just don't know, okay? I'm sorry. Julian, I'm at a loss as much as you are. One way or another, at least you're alive… right?"

Oh. Right...

…

Well, now he felt terrible.

Julian relaxed, turning away from the professor. "Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away." His chest was pounding – but under the current of his heartbeat, he could feel an odd chill. Yumemi did have a point – he was lucky to just be alive. "I shouldn't have snapped. That was rude of me…"

Yumemi tilted her head. "… It's fine. You came out of it – a little late, but you still did." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Just put it behind you, okay? What's past is past."

He nodded, but still didn't look at her directly. "Right."

"You can walk, right?"

"Well, somewhat."

"That's close enough. Come on, up you get…" Yumemi extended her hand, pulling him to his feet. "While you've been getting yourself back together, we've been trying to come up with leads on where to go next. Well, I've been – the kappas aren't exactly the most outgoing folk here. In particular, I think I've about found our old quarry."

"Who… Darius, you mean?"

"The same. I'm fairly confident I have a bead on him right now. Once we tag him, we can probably just leave Gensokyo and drop the UN a line. They can handle it."

Julian stopped dead in his tracks. "Hold on. You really think Japan's government would agree to that? For that matter, how could they believe us?"

"I have connections." Yumemi glanced back at him, pulling a small orb from her pocket. Tossing it into the air, it lit up, manifesting four beams of red light – a cross. "Biotech is a major taboo for my homeland – and while dimension hopping is another, I'm not the only one who does it. After all, Chiyuri had to have some sort of side project once she finishes the hypervessel repairs…"

**– TOUHOU –**

"We have to get moving." Myouren scuffed the ground beneath his boots. Technically, it wasn't ground, but rather a giant, seething mass of angry spirits, but whatever. "These spirits won't be dazed forever. If we linger, they'll get back together and then it'll get real messy. Come on."

At the geyser just at the entrance of Former Hell, they found a very interesting sight. Two mutilated paths leading down the side of Youkai Mountain, each with equal destruction but completely different methods. On the left side, it was all fire and brimstone, freshly regenerated fairies floating around confusedly. Several trees had seemingly been ripped clean out of the ground or even hacked to pieces, but the fire was _everywhere._ Not malevolent, not strictly magic – just plain, straight fire all the way down.

The right-side path was different. Scorch marks dotted the trail, several severed tree branches littering the sides. It showed far less damage compared to the blazing inferno that was their other option, but this one seemed strange. Every cut was impossibly crisp and clean – a normal sword would have at least partially bended the branches as it swung, and an energy blade would leave behind some sort of scorch mark. It was almost as if they had simply ceased to exist.

"They must have passed through recently." Reimu pointed at the left. "Goukei." She pointed to the right. "Darius." Then she made a quick head count. "Okuu-san, Futo-san. You're good with fires – you go after him."

"Okay!"

"Understood."

"I'll go with them," muttered Konngara.

"Byakuren? Myouren-san?" Reimu tilted her head towards Darius' trail.

The elder monk nodded. "I'll go with you." Beside her, Myouren nodded silently.

"Good." Reimu turned to the samurai. Pausing for a moment, she extended her hand. "Meira-san, don't die. We still have a score to settle."

"Don't worry about my head." Reaching out, Konngara met her for a tight handshake. "Focus on keeping yours on."

The miko chuckled quietly. "I'll see what I can do. Get going." As the samurai turned to leave, Reimu surreptitiously dusted off her hand on her dress. "Come on, you two." Her eyes followed the trail winding and twisting down Youkai Mountain. "We'd best hurry, too. That can't possibly end well…"

They followed her sightline, looking down the side of Youkai Mountain. It was tough to see, but the sharp, jagged-edged path definitely seemed to have some sort of destination in mind. And when they found that destination, it was looking very much like it would end _very_ messily.

He was gunning for the Garden of the Sun.

"What are you waiting for?" Reimu gave them both a gentle shove. "Get going!"

**– TOUHOU –**

The sun was breaking just over the horizon. Sunflowers swayed gently in the breeze, the soft wind almost playfully ruffling his hair. Paying it no mind, Darius flipped the claymore over in hand, jamming it into the ground as he dusted off his hands. As it was driven home, the blade was dispelled, a sheath of pitch-black darkness dispelled to reveal the glittering sky-blue silver beneath.

Taking one step to the side, the gunslinger easily sidestepped a wildly charging fairy, its danmaku flailing about behind it. Raising one hand, Darius wrapped his fingers around another fairy as it approached his face and _squeezed_. When he opened his hand, there was nothing left. Complete and utter destruction.

Much better.

Pulling his hand back, he thrust out his other arm, a glowing ball of energy clasped tight in his grip. Releasing his hold on it, the compressed energy exploded, beams of white light firing every which way. Tearing the claymore free of the ground, black matter erupted from the hilt, wrapping around the blade and tightening into a uniform shade. Not just a darkness, a void – a _nothing._

The blade was raised and fell like a guillotine, cleaving through anything and everything. Limb removal was clean and precise – no fountain of blood, no proper cuts – rather it was as if they simply ceased to be as the void passed by them, an impossibly thin amount of flesh removed from existence as Darius swung. Neat, tidy carnage. No gore, no wanton destruction…

Perfection.

Darius' eyes flickered from side to side as danmaku spewed around him. Digging into the soft earth with one foot, he crossed the claymore before him in a defensive stance. One by one, each bullet struck the empty surface of the sword – and vanished, the void greedily lapping up the energy offered to it. Spinning the claymore with as much ease as he would have with a butterknife, the gunslinger flicked his arm out. Wind resistance, all but zero. Mass, all but zero. Weight, all but zero. Cutting power, incomprehensible.

Granted, there were still a few things this sword of naught failed to cut. Even a black hole must disappear one day, after all. But for now, and for these all but useless fairies, that wouldn't be important.

With one last thrust of the blade, he concluded his skirmish with a powerful singular killing blow. The fairy on the receiving end slipped away into two clean halves, perfectly bisected by the assault. Lowering the corrupted blade, Darius turned his eyes to the gleaming white mansion in the middle of the Garden of the Sun. Around him, sunflowers shifted slowly, their bulbs opening into magnificent petals. It almost seemed like they were alive, twisting around to face the sun as it broke over the horizon. But that wasn't what he was here for. From this mansion, he could enter the Lake of Blood. From there, Mugenkan. And just beyond Mugenkan, the Dream Dimension. Following the Dream Dimension – tearing apart anyone he had to from the inside, moving outwards as their minds collapsed.

And maybe he could get these demons out of his own head while he was at it…

_Beep… Beep…_

Crouching down, Darius generated another light orb in his hand and rolled it along. As it rolled, it left behind a glowing white trail before it bumped against a sunflower's stem and came to a stop. He snapped his fingers.

White beams shot out of the trail, blasting back and forth across the ground. Darius watched blankly as the earth exploded around him, fireballs and plumes of smoke rising as a certain Lunarian doctor's traps were triggered. The sunflowers seemed to almost recoil at the open heat left behind, their "faces" turning to the fires as their stems angled them away. He stopped, trying to listen for any further blips. Aside from the crackling fires, the occasional crumble of a fallen sunflower, there was nothing.

Better.

The fresh carnage still burning around him, Darius walked on an all but leisurely pace through the Garden of the Sun. Strangely, there was no guard to be found at the entrance of the mansion. Oh, well – that just makes his job easier. Planting a single boot against the surface of the door, he kicked it open easily, sword at the ready.

"My, my, my. _Such_ rudeness! Here I was, minding my own business, when you come barging in, swords swinging and bullets flying." Yuuka narrowed her eyes as she leaned against a pillar, arms folded with her parasol at her side. "I was willing to let you go with a warning last time, but obviously that didn't work. Do I have to teach you a lesson after all?"

With a small thud, the doors of the mansion clicked shut behind him, a coil of vines rapidly growing over it to block his exit. Darius tapped the blade of his claymore against them. Sure enough, it cut through – but not entirely. The one restriction he still had to contend with; magic… And that was something he probably had to contend with.

Glancing back up, he could just barely see the hazy outlines of two certain other Spark-wielding magicians. Looked like he didn't have too much of a say in this. Dragging the claymore behind him, the tip just barely touched the ground, carving a shallow trench as he approached. Pulling it up into a proper stance, his eyes met Yuuka's.

"Well… come on, then."

And he struck.

**– TOUHOU –**

Goukei turned away as the fireworks in the Garden of the Sun started. Sure, they were pretty interesting to watch, but he still had a few things he had to do. The ex-shinigami raised the sash over his eye, a dark green glow sparking to life in the dim light. Unlike most of his brethren, he found a great deal more solace in the day…

His Eye of Medusa smoldering, he surveyed the mountain. Fire licked at his heels, but he ignored it as his green eye jerked erratically in its socket. With a growl of frustration, he reached up and _pulled it out_, wiping it off on his cloak. Without anything supporting it, his eyelid looked horribly sunken, a small host of wires hanging limply through his eyelid. "Stupid Lazarus and her technofetish…" Turning over the Eye of Medusa, he held it up by something dangling from the back. Where the optic nerve should have been, there was instead a thick wire. "Another time, another dimension, and humans are still as obsessive as ever with their electronics." With a squelch, he reinserted the eyeball, blinking a few times. "Well, I guess that's part of the charm, innit?"

_Tmp. Tmp. Tmp._

"Lewis, there y'are!"

"Goukei." Stretching his arms, the soldier fixed his companion with a low glare. "Did you get what you had to?"

"Only as much as you'll need," he snickered.

Lewis watched as Goukei turned away, seemingly poking his own eye. "Close enough. Where is it?"

"You'll find Jo's lab on the outskirts of Eden." Goukei seemed distracted as he straightened up, pushing back his hood and staring intently at something partly up the mountain. "Don't bother going to the Garden just yet, though – I already tried, and Wildcard has got it fucking locked _down_."

"I'll never understand that," muttered Lewis. "The first time I saw you, you were throwing a party in Hell–"

"Old Hell."

"I don't _care!"_ Lewis twisted his heel into the ground in frustration. "Then, you're part of the IEA and practically Geppetto's right-hand man. The Cold War rolls around and suddenly you're with the goddamn Wildcard trying to kill us! And as soon as that's over, you just tear into her back when she's not looking and haul ass straight back to Geppetto. Why do they trust you, Goukei? What the actual fuck do they see in you!?" The soldier gave a start as Goukei whirled, his maroon robe turning him into a bloody tornado for one brief moment. The oni raised one arm, thumb up and index finger out as he pointed the finger gun into Lewis' face. Goukei grinned as his sunken Eye of Medusa turned from a spark to a blaze.

"Bang!"

_"Argh!"_ Lewis collapsed almost immediately, pain wracking his body. It was excruciating, an overwhelming agony, worse than any other torture… Impalement on a rusty knife would feel better than this! Through the spinning, nauseating headache and his hazy vision, the soldier could just barely see a bright green series of lines running all over his body and slamming into the ground.

"You know…" Lewis felt a wrenching pain as something dug at his hair, pulling him upright and keeping him from falling. A fist of hellfire had sprung from the earth at Goukei's feet, wrapping around them before snatching up the soldier. And all the while, Goukei refused to drop his stare, horrifying pain tearing at him constantly. "There's a pretty good reason they let me hang around – quite a few, in fact."

_Hiss…_

Beneath them, the dirt crumbled, small spirits rising from the earth and circling them slowly. One by one, their spectral forms stretched out and expanded, bleaching from their almost white shades of blue to a mottled dark green. Cold, ethereal golden eyes snapped open as these ghostly serpents coiled at Lewis' feet, a soft hissing echoing Goukei's words.

"First off, I'm one hell of a fighter – you should know that. Second, I work for both sides; whoever happens to interest me more, I'll help 'em out a little more. Thirdly… whoever said they _trust_ me?"

"Nnngh…" Lewis' vision was fading, darkness hovering at his peripheral. The pain was beyond anything that could have been inflicted any other way, not even settling for tearing at his skin. It crept through his flesh, lashed at his bones and stabbed at his lungs, all without leaving a single mark. "You…"

Goukei snapped his arm back, the hand of hellfire releasing its grip on Lewis and retreating into the earth. He watched dispassionately as Lewis slowly sunk to his knees, gold and green eyes bearing down on him. Around his Eye of Medusa, green lines formed over the veins of his face as he grimaced. Lowering his arm, the ex-shinigami released his deathly gaze.

"And there you have it." He untied the sash wrapped around his arm, instead knotting it behind his head as he concealed the cursed eye once more. Kneeling down, he watched as one of the ghostly snakes slithered onto his arm, wrapping around his neck like a scarf. "I'm definitely not the most stable base, but I get the job done. Besides, they both know I don't work for either side properly… but so long as I'm closer to _their_ side, I get some extra privileges." Stretching forward, the ex-shinigami effortlessly plucked the soldier from the ground by his collar, with as much strength as he likely would have to lift a doll. "But really? My personal affairs ain't your business, pal."

Then, shoving him away, Goukei threw his hood back on and reached around his back, unclipping the long staff strapped to him. Tapping one end on the ground, the other flashed as a metallic black blade sprung out. "Right now, though, I don't feel like telling ya who I'm partying with." Tilting his scythe over his back, Goukei pointed a ways up the mountain. "You'll find the gateway to the lab up there, just past the tengu settlement up there."

Lewis hesitated, fingers twitching by his pocket. Oh, how he would love to draw his pistol on this arrogant slimy bastard… but he had more important things to do. Lyon's orders were more important than revenge – for now, at least. "Alright. I'll see you up there."

As he set off, Goukei tapped him on the shoulder. "And one more thing."

The soldier sighed heavily. "What now?"

"Our two guests are up there as well. Now that they're officially in Gensokyo, why don't we arrange them a… welcoming party?"

Lewis didn't turn, instead slowly tracing potential paths up the mountain. At first, the oni thought Lewis didn't hear him. But as he made to repeat himself, the soldier laughed quietly and nodded.

"… Yes. A welcoming party…!"

Goukei blew out a soft breath as Lewis continued chuckling. Watching the retreating back of the soldier as he hiked back up the mountain, the ex-shinigami could only shake his head once more and breathe a sigh of defeat. "Nope. They never learn, after all…"

**– TOUHOU –**

**... By the way, anyone who can figure out who Goukei's _really_ allied with, you'll earn a cookie. Want to give it a try?**

**And another problem; I find that even though we've been trying to cool things off between fights, there's still a fight scene about every other chapter, even if it's not with the same people. Are we getting them to have a go at it too much, or are you guys just happy with the rate of progression? We'd really love to know your opinion, it actually _does_ help a lot more than you think.**

**If you've got something you wanna say to either me or Muse, feel free to drop a line, alright? It's okay, we don't bite... well, he doesn't.**


	14. Nature's Way

**Holy FFFFFFF... This one took a ludicrous amount of time. Not just to write, but to edit and patch up. Well, it's done now, so enjoy the 6k+ special of BWI! Sadly, we couldn't find a sufficient song from any other sources, so we quietly stole an actual 2hu's remixed theme. Regrettably, the 2hu we stole from doesn't show up this chapter. Sorry to disappoint, Sakuya fans...**

**NHK: Well, there's always the line between pointless gratuitous combat and plot-advancing combat. Hopefully, we've done well enough to keep the latter in effect and minimize the presence of the former! Yuuka's fight isn't in this chapter, sorry... but it'll probably show up next chapter, so look forward to that!**

**Ziden: Well, that's definitely an interesting theory! How'd you come up with it? No, really, I'm interested in knowing. Think about it; Eiki Shiki and Goukei are not on friendly terms, he's probably still a little frosty with Death, and just what do you think his life was like before becoming a shinigami? But to actually answer it... no. PM for details if you're interested?**

**AllHearsMe: You, uh, might not be as interested in BWI, then. BWD was the more humorous, spur-of-the-moment of the two. Assuming we ever actually wrap up this series, the third (if it ever exists) will probably be the most lighthearted. BWI, though, is grimdark all day, every day. Mostly. Kinda. Well, even if slapstick is a no-go with Muse at the wheel, we'll definitely let everyone have a couple chapters off once this gauntlet is over! And yes, do send me a PM. We'll explain more about him then...**

**Bokusu: I CANNOT EXPLAIN QUANTUM PHYSICS IN AN AUTHOR'S NOTE. SEND ME A PM IF YOU'RE REALLY THAT INTERESTED IN HAVING YOUR BRAIN MELT. And yeah, I'm thinking of letting all the OCs and their closest companions hang out off the set for a little bit while we get the actual 2hus back in the spotlight.**

**Wow, I was really thinking no one would catch that. Yes, Darius is a sort of "blank slate" even pre-Wildcard in that he partially... simulates(?) the personality of the person he's speaking to. For everyone else, check back if you really want to and you might see it. Before you ask, no, Damion isn't affected by this. Now think of how they're always in such close proximity and ask yourself why Darius seemed to be slowly going mad as BWD dragged on.**

**... Yeah.**

**Also, Bokusu... YES. Yes, Goukei would very much lie. A normal oni would probably never lie and hate anyone who does lie, but then again, Goukei's not exactly normal...**

**Alright, author's note almost over. Just a heads-up for everyone diving into this chapter; Lazarus is one hell of a gore-magnet. If you were grossed out by what happened to Karin late-BWD, you might want to back away from this chapter. This goes double for you guys with vivid imagination. Be careful.**

**Now, let's enjoy ourselves some "Snake Eater", from _Metal Gear Solid 3._ Hell yes!**

**– TOUHOU –**

Clarence turned to his temporary companion. "This is the place, right?"

Reid nodded. His longcoat was far worse for wear, having been torn apart by something. In public, he'd been forced to don a pair of wraparound shades – empty sockets tended to attract a bit too much attention. "I arranged for your transportation."

The werewolf gave an appreciative whistle as he ran a hand along the motorcycle's side. "Damn. Thanks!"

"Don't total this one," rumbled the general. "… Or get arrested again, for that matter. Once you have the Hunters, contact me and leave Gensokyo immediately." As one, they turned to the outskirts of the city. Barely visible, the air shimmered. Under any other circumstance, it would have looked to merely be the shimmer of hot air, but it was far too large for any heat source to do so. "You'll have to find the Hakurei shrine and enter from there. With the barrier fixed, we can't slip in as easily as before."

"Gotcha." Revving the engine, Clare shot one last look back. "By the way, how's the Necropolis going?"

"Terrible. The Wildcard still has us locked out."

He shrugged. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Furthermore…" Reid cast a furtive look around. "I've been receiving the Loyhrs family's reports."

"And?"

"We've confirmed that two of the Harbingers are in Gensokyo."

Clare blanched. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I don't joke," the general reminded him. "I'm not sure why, but they're converging on the Youkai Mountain. If you go there, you might find what you need – assuming you don't die."

"Wow, thanks for the support…" Clare grumbled under his breath. "Well, good luck back in Scotland, General."

He nodded. "Godspeed."

**– TOUHOU –**

_BOOM!_

Julian staggered. "What the hell was that?"

They were still inside their temporary living space when a violent explosion had suddenly started, ripping through the ground towards them. Even as he said it, another series of smaller but faster thuds began. With every ringing thump in the distance, it seemed to be getting closer.

Yumemi pulled him back onto his feet. "I don't know, but I don't like it. We have to get outside – fast."

They stepped outside – and instantly reeled as a burst of wind struck them like a physical blow. Above them, the sun had been concealed, hidden from view by storm clouds as something on the edge of the youkai settlement approached. Julian had to smack himself a couple times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Is that… is that a _tornado!?"_

The professor gulped. "I think it is."

With a burst of wind, Aya skidded to a halt next to them, jabbering away something Julian couldn't understand. Yumemi nodded and responded with something in the positive, leading to the crow tengu's brief smile and exit, tearing through the air towards the towering funnel of destruction that was rapidly closing in on them.

"What was that?" Julian had to ask as Yumemi pulled him along up the mountain.

"Aya says there's an intruder on the mountain," said Yumemi in a rush. "We have to get to higher ground and look for shelter before the tornado hits."

"Um, hello? Slightly crippled from skydiving sans parachute!"

"Oh, you're fine," snapped Yumemi. Giving him a quick shove in the small of his back, she watched as he instinctively threw his hands out to arrest his fall. "See? You can climb and catch yourself, so keep moving!"

"Dammit all," he muttered under his breath. But she did have a point; he was feeling surprisingly limber for someone who should've been bedridden. The scar on his back was aching again. Something didn't match up here…

Well, he could figure it out later when his life wasn't in mortal danger. "Hey, Yumemi, wait up!"

"It's just over there." Yumemi pointed to something a little further up the mountain. Embedded into a sheer cliff face was some sort of steel hatch. In front of it was something that looked to be a waterfall that trickled down the mountainside. Catching the confused look on his face, she added, "It's one of the kappa labs on the mountain."

"Kappa?"

"The mechanics of Youkai Mountain," Yumemi summed up. "I'm told they're skittish, but hopefully they won't mind us intruding on their space for now."

"There's a goddamn tornado down there!" Julian waved at the vortex in question before doubling back, eyes wide in complete shock. "Holy hell. Is it – is it _climbing_ the mountain?"

"Yeah. Tornadoes tend to do that."

"How the f–?"

"Agent… _Julian… MELISS!"_

The tornado warped, bending as something in its core shifted – and collapsed, the cloud funnel breaking away, a single condensed bolt of energy shot from its core.

Yumemi's eyes widened. "Julian, _move it!"_ Shoving him out of the way, the professor held up her hand, a blazing cross springing to life in her palm. The energy lance slammed against it, both attacks instantly cancelled out by the other's strength.

Julian pushed himself upright as Yumemi fell to the ground heavily. "Yumemi? Are you alright?"

She didn't respond, but someone else did. "I gotta say, that's pretty impressive."

The agent's head snapped up to see Lewis, the soldier touching down softly on the ground. "Lewis!"

"That's right," he growled. "You got away last time, but you're not getting another chance."

"Wait a second…" Julian backed up as Lewis advanced. "Why are you even hounding us like this anyways? How come we're you're enemies!?"

Lewis ignored him, continuing to advance. "If you're not with me, Julian, you're against me."

"Oh, hell…" Julian muttered quietly. He might actually have to fight again, and so quickly…!

The soldier's hand snapped up, a knife in hand, ready to strike down Julian, only for another hand to reach up and arrest it. "Oi!"

Lewis turned, frustration evident in his face. "What – get _off_ me, Goukei!"

"'Fraid not." Despite the soldier's tugging, Goukei barely seemed to display any effort in restraining him. "You got a bigger mission to handle right now, pal. Go handle your personal vendetta later, preferably not in the middle of your fucking mission!"

"It'd barely take me a second! Let me at him, or I swear to God, I'll–"

_WHAM!_

Goukei brushed off his hand as Lewis cursed, his voice muffled by the dirt. "Trust me, Lewis, that'd be a bad idea. We're here to get rid of Lazarus and leave. That's _it._"

The soldier said nothing, pounding a fist against the ground in frustration. Getting back up, Lewis shot one last venomous look at Julian before leaping away to continue his trek up the mountain.

Julian blinked, his brain finally catching up with what just happened. "Who are…?"

The ex-shinigami turned, an unreadable expression on his face. "That's not important. But what _is_ important is that you haul ass outta here, and fast." He jerked his head up the mountain towards where Lewis had disappeared to. "Follow us if you really want to, but you might not stay the paradox if you do."

"Hold on, what are you talking about? 'Paradox'?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… You're a man living on borrowed time, Julian." Goukei jumped into the air, digging his hands into the cliff face. "You'd best do what you have to before they ask for that time back."

"What?"

Too late – he was gone.

Some short distance away, Yumemi was leaning against a tree. Having watched the strange conversation, she said nothing regardless, instead conversing with the crow tengu at her side. _"He went there,"_ she said in Japanese as she pointed to the kappa lab.

_"Thanks."_ Aya spread her wings, ready to take to the sky once more.

She extended her hand before the tengu zipped away. _"Hold on!"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"You and Lewis… what's going on?"_

Aya sighed, running a hand through her hair. _"Lewis-me… I taught him to use his powers. Wind and air pressure were close enough for me to show him the basics of our magic."_

_"And now he's out for blood…"_ Yumemi muttered.

_"At the time, I didn't realize what he had in mind,"_ confirmed Aya. _"We only learned what he really had in mind when we saw Rumia-san."_

_"What happened to her?"_

_"I don't know… I don't know. All I could get were secondhand reports – they say Rumia-san was scarred beyond all hope of recovery by something horrible he did to her. So wretched the Hakurei miko of the time sealed her memories out of pity for the girl."_

_"When was this?"_

_"1944."_

Yumemi put a hand to her mouth. _"So Lewis-san is…?"_

Aya shook her head and shrugged. _"No idea. He's a youkai closest to us tengu – if you ask me, though, I don't think he took it well."_ With a quick flap of her wings, she took to the air. _"Ayayayaya. Even if their bodies are intact, their minds are so much more fragile…"_

**– TOUHOU –**

_"Rekindle, flames of my vengeance, and lay waste to the world! Mad Bomber – Shattered Sky!"_

With a thundering roar, the steel doors were instantly torn apart by a barrage of explosive danmaku. Torn free of their hinges, even the reinforced metal had no chance as Lewis' replicated "bombs" fired again and again, smoke rapidly billowing through the area. Pulling his scarf over his mouth, the soldier snapped on his aviator's goggles and crept into the dust cloud.

He could hear the wailing of sirens – he was going to have company, and soon. Over the blaring alarms, he shouted, _"Goukei!"_

"Right behind ya!" Unstrapping his scythe, the ex-shinigami tore into the lab. One blade manifesting, Goukei cut into a kappa that attempted to intercept him, slamming the butt of the scythe across the youkai's temple. As they staggered, he drew back with the scythe and slammed it into the ground, leaping into the air and swinging his leg into them at incredible speed.

Landing back on the ground, the oni laughed and spun the weapon, a second blade erupting from the end as the black blades burst into flaring crimson hellfire, every swing of the deadly weapon scattering that same fire across the room. As his hellfire splashed to the ground like water, it seemed to take on a life of its own, actively crawling across the floor and wrapping around anything even remotely of value before burning it to ashes. "Three cheers for vandalism, motherfucker!"

A sudden crackling sound made him turn. Another kappa was there, hidden behind her cloaking tech as she levelled some sort of gun in his face–

_BANG!_

"Heads up." Goukei winked at the dazed kappa before tightening his eyepatch, the Eye of Medusa deactivating once more. "I got things covered here, Lewis. You go on ahead!"

"Well, where the hell is it!?" Sliding across the floor, Lewis came up by one of the turrets scattered throughout the kappa lab, slamming his palm against it. A whoosh of displaced air, followed by a sudden thump as a vacuum rapidly formed inside it, the difference in air pressure instantly causing the machine to crumple like tin foil. "This isn't Lazarus' lab; this is just another youkai workshop!"

"Ah, calm down!" Clenching his fist, the ex-shinigami turned and flung a fireball to the ground. As it impacted, the condensed hellfire rapidly expanded to either side, a solid wall of heat locking them in. "The gate's further in, a'ight? Jo has some seriously weird tastes in gateway placement!"

Lewis was about to bark something back, but something else caught his eye. A sudden shimmer of steel, just on the edge of his sight. Rapidly coming to a halt, he thumped his foot against the ground, a burst of wind pushing him away as a barrage rained down on his previous position. A second glance confirmed that they were… an impromptu collection of sharp objects, ranging from knives to scalpels to syringes to… a machete?

"Lewis T. Dawson," recited a carefree voice as its owner stepped into the light. She had extremely light blue hair, almost white, but there was some sort of marking across it in a darker shade of blue. A light lab coat, an extra syringe in her hand, and a deranged glint in her eye – it was Josef Lazarus. "How long has it been?"

"Lazarus…!" Not even wasting time, Lewis swiped upwards with his hand, a wave of danmaku following his movement.

The doctor only shook her head. Raising her own hand, she swiped it sideways. One quick burst of light – and his danmaku was gone, wiped from existence. "Hmph. You should know better than to try that against me." She watched as Lewis slowly continued fuming. "What's the matter? Still sore about your squad from seventy years past?" Her eyes sharpened beneath the rim of her hat. Lazarus flicked her hand, the needle glinting in the light. "Would you like to meet them again?"

_"LAZARUS!"_

_Whump._

Lazarus cackled as she effortlessly held Lewis in place. His fist had been arrested barely a foot from her face, the distance between them travelled in an instant by the soldier. Her fingers clenched tighter around his fist, bones cracking under the pressure. "Please tell me you did _not_ just try that."

Her other hand swung around, the syringe's tip aimed at his neck–

Lewis twisted, dropping to the ground and flipping Lazarus over his back. She recovered quickly, regarding the splashed contents of the syringe on her hand in mild surprise. "So your skills still haven't degraded…" she muttered. "Good to know!"

Reaching into her pocket, she flung something into the air. The grenade began hissing, twin jets of thick yellow gas erupting from either end. Kicking away the soldier, Lazarus rolled onto her feet. "Come and get me, Lewis!"

He cursed under his breath as he extended a hand, trying to blast away the gas with a pressure bomb. No effect. "Enhanced mustard gas…! Goukei, lend a hand!" A pause. "… Goukei?"

Gone.

_"Fuck!"_

When the gas cleared away on its own, Lewis finally had his chance. During the carnage, it seemed the kappa had evacuated the lab, giving him a clear path that really was not all that hard to find, considering it was walled on either side by hellfire. Sprinting down the metal halls, he finally found another door, this one seemingly torn apart by someone's bare hands, sliced to pieces with some sort of bladed weapon, and then set on fire for no apparent reason. No doubt that oni's work.

Lewis rolled his eyes as he slowed to a power walk. This door seemed different from the others. Rather than simply a lack of illumination inside, it was like there was something holding back the light in the door frame. Yeah, this was _definitely_ the door to Lazarus' lab.

"Alright, you lunatic doctor…" Unwrapping his scarf and throwing it to the side, Lewis drew his knife and entered the darkness. "Ready or not, here I come."

**– TOUHOU –**

Julian had no words. All he could do was stare at the carnage of the kappa lab.

"… I know." Yumemi gave him another small prod. "But we have to get moving."

"But why?"

Judging from the look she just gave him, she probably thought he'd gone crazy. "What are you talking about? Lewis is a madman, a psychopath! We have to–"

"I can barely fight. Remember?" Julian gestured to his chest, a clear reminder of his recent operations. "Besides, I don't even have any magic, either."

"You might not think so, but you have _something_ going for you," insisted Yumemi. "That fall would have killed any normal human, and you recovered from it when any human who _did_ survive it would have been in a coma at best – maybe even a vegetable! But you're up and moving!"

"I'm not interested in dying, alright?"

Yumemi whipped around, a hardened look in her eyes. "And I won't let you."

A long, drawn-out silence. Eventually, Yumemi turned back and kept walking. "We have to get moving. I have a good feeling about this."

"I thought you were a scientist – a more grounded person…"

"I am, yes," she admitted. "But I've learned to follow my gut over my findings. Magic, biotech, dimension hopping… I would never have done those things if I stuck to the code. Sometimes, we have to strike out, Julian. I… What are you looking at?"

The agent wasn't even paying attention. Instead, he'd noticed something odd – a tiny red dot, barely visible as it flitted back and forth across the wall. As he watched, it passed a smoke cloud, revealing the dot was actually a nearly invisible beam of some sort. Then, it shifted, jumping from the wall – directly onto Yumemi's forehead.

Finally realizing what he was looking at, Julian pushed her out of the way. "DUCK!"

_Boom!_

They collapsed to the ground, a shower of wall plating torn out of the wall, followed almost immediately by the gunshot, the sniper's bullet having gone supersonic.

Julian pulled himself upright slowly, heart pouding. "Yumemi, are you alright?"

She got up, dusting off the front of her dress. "Dusty, but I'm fine. Thank you, Julian."

"Don't mention it," he said. A second look around showed him that they were currently behind a significantly larger piece of rubble. So that's why the mystery sniper hadn't taken another shot. "I never thought sniper training would be something I'd have to use…"

"You did training on this?"

"Mandatory for my job," he explained.

"And you don't know anything about close combat because…?"

"Because normally we don't have people trying to strangle us to death! I'm an agent, not a bodyguard!"

"That reminds me, who are you an agent _for_?"

"Not important," huffed Julian.

_Crack!_

_BANG!_

He flinched as the sniper took another potshot at them. "Geez, this is gonna be tough…! Yumemi, got a gun I can borrow?" She pushed some strange handgun into his arms. "Um, how do I use this?"

"… It should be intuitive."

Julian regarded the strange pistol. Slightly lighter than he expected, he couldn't eject the magazine, but the safety was on, and the trigger and hammer were still there. He flicked the safety off. "Well, I guess it'd work. Range?"

"No idea."

"Crap…"

_Crack!_

_BANG!_

Julian watched as Yumemi rolled something onto the ground – a tiny, dark metal ball. It blipped twice – and _exploded,_ a single snipe blowing it to pieces. The professor winced at the destruction of her device.

"What was that for?" Julian had to ask as Yumemi pulled out a small smart phone-like tool.

The professor pointed to the other side of the rubble. "Sniper's over there, a couple hundred meters down. Whoever it is, they're on the move, I think. Trying to get a better vantage? Here, take a look…"

The single picture taken was blurry, a glint of the rifle's scope dominating the image. However, that dark red suit and pitch-black wavy knife were unmistakable…

"Oh, _shit._"

A sudden patter of feet, the sound of shifting cloth, and a dark red blur shot over them, skidding to a halt just behind them. Ehud got up, knife and a handgun in hand.

_"Oh, SHIT!"_ On pure instinct, Julian levelled the pistol and fired just as Ehud leapt forward.

_Bang!_

Julian watched as an extremely thin red beam formed at the end of the barrel and fired. For one brief instant, he could see the laser piercing clean through Ehud's chest, and – before flowing blood covered it – a dull, metallic sheen.

Ehud stopped in his tracks, almost quizzically poking at his own chest. "You… _How…?_"

Julian didn't know, and didn't care. With a yell of fury, he cut loose, firing time and again with the handgun. With every strike, Ehud began to shuffle backwards involuntarily, another hole riddling his bloodied chest. The agent continued pulling the trigger, watching as the scarlet barrier crackling around him fractured and shattered with each blow. The assassin crashed to one knee, breathing heavily.

_Click. Click. Click._

The muzzle steamed as Julian finally relented. Turning over the gun, he saw an odd meter of sorts on the underside of the barrel, ranging from green near the trigger to red near the muzzle.

"Heat…?"

"Of a variant," muttered Yumemi. "More importantly, what _was_ that? That man should have…"

A low, dark laughter started. They both fell silent, turning back to Ehud. The assassin raised his head, a sadistic glee in his eyes. "Well done, Harbinger…" Slowly, he rose to his feet shakily. "I made a foolish mistake. It's clear that the Master favours you."

Julian raised an eyebrow. "The Master?"

The Blood Lightning steadied himself. "You won't become what you will become, agent. I'm afraid I can't let you…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Make no mistake… I'll kill you." Ehud clasped a hand to his chest with a soft grunt. "But I have more important… matters to deal with…"

The agent realized too late that Ehud had been steadily backing away, now breaking into a run deeper into the lab. "Hold it!" In desperation, he tried firing off one last round, embedding itself in his shoulder. The assassin flinched as it hit home, but otherwise gave no response.

He steadied his breathing, lowering the handgun and flicking the safety again. "… Yumemi?"

"I have no idea," she murmured.

"I'm not asking what happened. But when I… shot him… didn't you see it?"

"See… what are you talking about?"

Julian turned to her, a grim look on his face. "He had it as well. A mechanical heart."

The professor gave no response, instead gazing further into the laboratory. "So he…"

He nodded slowly. "I think so. Whoever he is… he has biotech, too."

**– TOUHOU –**

**[Welcome to the Eternal Engine! Ezel-Ash – Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial]**

Lewis leaned over the steel railings, looking at the colossal factory below. "How the hell did she manage to hide _this_ in a mountain!?"

He was on only one platform in a series of dozens, all interlinked with ladders and stairs in a frantic dance high above the true spectacle below. Scattered throughout the factory, most embedded into the walls hundreds of feet apart from each other, but many built into other machinery, were boilers, an ominous orange light providing the main illumination of the factory. Several self-contained conveyor belts churned, powered by gears larger than should have probably been physically possible. A glance up told Lewis that this wasn't the only layer – and considering that he _still_ couldn't see how far down this thing went, there were only two ways this could have been constructed inside a mountain that couldn't have _possibly _contained it; either Lazarus was a wizard, or… yeah, she's probably a wizard.

"For that matter, why did no one find out about this before?"

Lewis jumped back as another steaming cauldron passed by the railings, searing hot air blasting him in the face as it was carried downwards by some sort of escalator – scaled up a couple hundred times, of course. Several hundred pipes were built into the walls, each one with some sort of fluid in them. In fact… some of them were _glowing._ And under all the banging of pistons, the thumping of machines and the roar of fire, was an ever-present humming, a deep, almost humanlike groan as the factory continued its mission. What was it? He had no idea.

But he did know that whatever it was, he wasn't going to let it keep running.

Lewis leapt over the railing, the winds springing to life and slowing his fall to a halt just as he touched the ground. Beside him was a towering series of lead pipes, an unknown fluid dripping from the vat above him they led to. "Well, this seems as good a place to start as any," he said to himself with a shrug. The soldier reared back, ready to unleash another pressure bomb and tear this factory to hell.

_Whoosh…_

_WHAM!_

He gave a start, leaping away as a white-clad figure jumped down from above him. "Lazarus!"

"Welcome to the Gears of Genesis," Lazarus snickered. Reaching into her coat, the doctor pulled out another syringe. Lewis tensed, ready for anything she threw at him – only for her to stab said needle into her own neck.

He lowered his hands slightly in surprise. "… Wha?"

Lazarus hissed in pain as she emptied the contents of the needle into herself. Tossing away the now-empty syringe, she spun her arms a few times before stretching her legs. "Much better. Now, let's really do this."

Lewis prepared himself – but not fast enough. Before his arms were even in position, Lazarus had struck, a single bone-cracking punch instantly sending him sprawling across the floor. "What the f – Lazarus, what have you _done!?_"

The doctor giggled as she raised one arm, ripping off the sleeve. Underneath, Lewis could see exactly what just let her punch him _that_ hard.

"Bi-o-tech~!"

In place of each of her veins, there wasn't the blue and red of blood, but rather an unnatural electric blue, almost black. Lazarus cracked her knuckles and laughed aloud. "Come on, Lewis! Don't tell me you're afraid of a girl!"

The soldier didn't respond, instead looking for some sort of way through her defense. Magic was a no-go, hand-to-hand was probably suicide…

His eyes fell on the bubbling vats of lava.

"Keep your eyes… on the _prize!"_

Shit! He'd been distracted by his own thoughts… Lewis slid a foot across the floor, barely avoiding Lazarus' second punch as she barrelled past him. As the doctor passed him by, Lewis grabbed her by the lab coat – and was promptly tugged to the ground. She was _strong!_ Now on the cold metal ground once more, Lewis rolled to the side as her fist slammed against the ground hard enough to dent the steel.

He had to get to those cauldrons…!

Of course!

The soldier stepped forward as Lewis tried again, taking a second hit in the process. Gritting his teeth in pain as he felt his ribs fracture, Lewis still managed to grab Lazarus by the shoulders as she made for her third attack. "See, this is the problem with you mad scientist types. You're all great with tech and what-have-you, but when you actually fight…"

With a huge effort, Lewis turned her momentum against her, slamming Lazarus against the metallic pipes. "You don't know jack shit!"

They burst, the doctor screaming in equal parts fury and pain as it splashed over her. The soldier hopped back as the high-pressure fluid landed at his feet – and burnt a hole into the steel. Whoa. He was _not_ expecting it to work that well.

But at least it worked to his advantage. Now, Lewis could look for a way up – and back to the lava vats. Running down the balcony, he jumped from it to a nearby crusher, the colossal piston rising as it prepared to plunge. Jumping off of the piston at its apex, he turned back to Lazarus with an easy grin on his face – one that instantly turned to one of absolute disgust at what was transpiring.

Lazarus had literally _melted._

Or at least, most of her had. Skin had sloughed off her body like wet paper as she stood. Where joints should have been, mechanical gears clicked and churned in their place. In some places, muscles had either been completely melted away or replaced with flexible synthetic sinews. She flexed her fingers, almost all of which had melted to the bone – or rather, the dark metal that stood in for her bones. The stomach, liver, lungs – almost all of her major organs had been removed and replaced, partially concealed by muscle, synthetic or otherwise.

She raised her head, exposing a sight that made even Lewis gag for a moment. One half of her face was simply _gone,_ ivory white bone and black wiring exposed beneath the muscle. Her eye twitched wildly in its socket as she focused her vision on him. The only part of her body not completely uphauled was the muscle and skin surrounding the lightning bolt scar on her back, now clearly visible due to most of her hair having fallen away from the shoulder down.

_"Hehehe… surprised?"_ Lazarus' voice had also changed, from a breathy, soft-spoken voice to one that was harsher, deeper, more grating. _"Biological technology, Lewis… I'm not a man or a machine."_

Striding down the balcony, her eyes never left his. Multicoloured lines overlapped what little remained of her veins, shimmering with every pulse of her heart – her _mechanical_ heart. Unlike Ehud and Julian, Lazarus' almost resembled a tiny engine rather than a heart.

_"It doesn't matter what you throw at me…"_ Lazarus walked down the railing until it ended abruptly at a boiler – and _kept_ walking, straight up the side of the boiler like gravity had decided to take the day off. _"Nothing can kill me."_

"In that case, I won't bother," Lewis shouted back. "You can take an acid spill, but can you take _this!? Dawson Arcanum – Thousand-Blade Storm of the Temperate Paradise!"_

As soon as the words left his lips, the darkened factory erupted into complete chaos as a wind manifested around him – a wind that quickly expanded into a full-blown tornado. The wind's whisper turned to a screeching roar as Lewis narrowed his eyes, hands outsretched as he forced it to grow stronger and stronger.

With an earsplitting groan, machinery tore free of its supports and joined the vortex. Pipes and the likes were dashed to pieces against one another to form a whirlwind of lethal shrapnel. Sparking machinery met compressed gas, bursting into flame and igniting the vortex. The same burst acid pipes that had revealed Lazarus' identity were part of the fun as well – vibrant green fluid devouring anything and everything that it landed on.

_"Urrraaaah!" _With one last sweeping gesture, Lewis dispelled the tornado, the winds rapidly dying down to nothing. For a moment, everything hung in place. Every machine whipped into the air, every drop of lava and avid, every sparking wire, they all hung in the air for that one infinitesimally small stretch of time.

Then, they began to fall.

Lewis lowered his arms, panting at the effort he'd exterted to use his Arcanum. But that didn't matter, because that enhanced tornado could tear apart almost anything that got sucked in, and whatever didn't instantly get shredded would've been smashed to dust by everything else in there. Judging from the rubble around him and how large they were before, he probably had reason to be proud of that spell. Even if it did cost him that much energy to cast.

"I guess… that about covers it…" The soldier glanced into the darkness. Whatever this machine was, it was still operating – not even he could destroy something this colossal in one go – but it probably wasn't going to get anything done. Just about everything within over a hundred feet of him had been utterly decimated, and he knew for a _fact_ that Lazarus was in that blast radius.

"Mission complete," he muttered to himself. Then, giving one last half-hearted middle finger to the factory, he turned and left.

Or at least, he would have, if not for something he heard at the door. Something else was moving, and it wasn't him. Something human – he could tell from the slow, languishing shuffling of feet and faint, laboured breathing – but also something mechanical. Something like…!

Lewis whipped around, a pressure bomb at the ready as he backed away towards the door. His eyes darted back and forth as the sounds grew louder and louder – she was closing in on him, but dammit all, _where was she!?_

Too late, he felt himself backing up – right into something, soft pressing against his back in some places, but with jagged edges stabbing at him in others.

Lazarus unhinged her jaw, a raspy breath sending ice-cold chills down his spine as another noise began – a slow, steady grinding scrape of metal against metal.

_"Looking for someone?"_

His world spun as he was whipped around and came to an abrupt halt as Lazarus closed her hand around his neck, effortlessly lifting him into the air. _"This is a strength transcending morality and ideology, Lewis!"_ With a single swipe of her arm, she flung him down the length of the balcony, Lewis only coming to a halt when he smashed into the railing at the end of it – mostly. With so much momentum, he was still flipped right over the edge, forced to grab onto the steel rails and pull himself up.

As he did, Lazarus continued slowly marching towards him. _"Morals, ethics, indecision, pity and compassion and every other emotion, it's all just an endless barrage of barriers!"_ Suddenly breaking into a dash, Lazarus instantly closed the distance and swung her foot. A colossal crash of splintering metal and the balcony broke beneath them, Lewis falling away with Lazarus following his trail rapidly.

_"Barriers once put in place to keep humanity in harmony with nature!"_ Grabbing him in mid-air, the enhanced doctor spun, turning his momentum from vertical to horizontal and tossing him into the side of a still-functioning boiler with enough force to dent it under his weight. _"But when has humanity ever cared about that? We destroy the Earth Mother, ruin her visage, and massacre her children to fill our stomachs, reach into her seemingly infinite wells of wealth and power and siphon them dry!"_

Lewis cracked open one eye. There was a sharp pain in his forehead and something warm was running down his face. He could see her moving closer with each step, her mangled figure limping closer and closer. _"And as our civilization advances, the time will inevitably come to throw away the defective bodies bestowed to us by nature!"_

Reaching to the floor, she tore a chunk of metal free and crushed it in her hand before throwing the broken sharp-edged fragments like a shotgun spray. _"Yet our _morals _restrain us at that point!?"_

He growled under his breath, extending his hand and chanelling the winds once more. In his grip, a pressure bomb formed as Lewis sprinted forward, slamming it across Lazarus' face with enough force to stagger her. "Shut your _fucking_ mouth!"

Her feet scraped at the ground, metal grinding against metal as she skidded to a halt. What was left of her face twisted in anger – only for another blow to send her spinning once again. "Morals are useless? Ethics are pointless!? Emotions are disposable!? _Don't bullshit me!"_

Lazarus leapt back up, her own fist meeting his. With a horrible mulching crack, his bones shattered, but he powered through it, instead swinging around his other arm. As she stumbled, he staged an offensive, a quick roundhouse to the side pushing her further down the balcony. "You call this transcendence!?" he shouted, gesturing at her brutalized body. "You're just another stupid doctor who thinks she's found the answer to everything! Well, I've got news for you; you haven't! All you've done is turn yourself into a living breathing war crime! You're no walking revolution…!"

Folding the enhanced doctor double over his knee, Lewis grimaced as he slammed his elbow down on top of her spine before pushing her away. Grabbing a heavy steel column from the ground and kicking it into the air with a low-power pressure bomb, he leapt after it as he prepared one last pressure bomb, this one even stronger than any other he'd used before.

"You're _DISGUSTING!"_

_BOOM!_

Lewis fell to one knee, holding his broken arm with his other hand. "And in layman's terms? Eat shit and _die."_

Lazarus only gaped silently, eyes wide in shock as she slowly, shakily pressed a hand to her chest – or rather, the steel pillar that had been shot clean through it. Wires sparked as she tried to move. Ever so slowly, with the horrible grinding of metal scraping and sparking against metal, Lazarus dragged herself down the pillar towards him, _still impaled on the steel spike._

She extended one bloodied, shaking hand, trying to reach him for one last attack… and went limp, collapsing to the side. A pool of thick, viscous blood began to form beneath her.

The soldier exhaled a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. He limped over to Lazarus' corpse, bright white spots dancing in his vision as he fell to his knees beside it and began searching. He found it – a small syringe, miraculously unharmed throughout their skirmish, the same translucent serum the doctor had used on herself just before their fight.

Lewis coughed, instinctively bringing his sleeve to his mouth. When he brought it away, he could see the flecks of dark red on it. It was either this mystery serum or guaranteed death.

It was an easy decision.


	15. Predator and Prey

**Man, I don't even have any words at this point. No witty pre-chapter banter or anything... all I can really say is that we're _still_ not done the first Harbinger fight. I really, really hope we'll have this done next chapter. For all you action-lovers out there, just have fun. For those of you dying for a break from the non-stop action, I promise you we'll be taking some weight off of BWI once we're done here. I'm so sorry for letting this drag out so much... :(**

**As another note, Muse's original chapter was... well, nauseating at best. I did my best to trim it down by about an extra thousand words and keep us "mostly" out of M-rating territory, but... well, just tell us if we've gone a step too far in gory description, alright?**

**Hackery: Damn right. Also; hey, you came back! Where were you, anyways?**

**Tez7: Everyone expects the slimy cultured jerk to be the double agent and then just loses it when they figure out the real spy was a drunkard roughhousing former death god... who's actually so goddamn good at deception that we've lost track of him. _Us!_ Terry and Muse, the guys who _invented _him, lost track of him and whose side he's actually on! Actually, Muse probably knows, but I've given up. And definitely, we'll keep rolling out the action... though we probably have to sit back a bit soon. There's only so many ways to describe two or more people beating each other up..._  
_**

**Ziden115: Definitely PM, send me one anytime. Unless we're sleeping or working on something, either Muse or I should get back to you quickly! As for any lessons that are and aren't learned, I'd prefer to keep that one under wraps for now. Mostly because we have no idea if it'll happen, but shush!**

**Unyubird: *slow clapping* Thank you! I was beginning to think no one would figure it out; Lewis is (and I hope his creator forgives me) batshit fucking insane at this point. Hypocrite? Yeah. We were going to call him out this chapter or the next on it, but it looks like you beat us to the punchline. Juggled the idea of making Hitler comparisons his berserk button, too; pity we didn't find a way to sneak it in. Besides, _he committed genocide in Gensokyo. _There isn't a single soul who'd let him into their village after he massacred a ridiculous amount of youkai! But without a doubt, he's as off-kilter as a couple of EX-Rumias are, maybe a little more. I'd rather not explain what he did; leave it up to your imagination.**

**AllHearsMe: Whoops, missed a point in your review; your ships, sadly, will be staying in port a little longer. Depending on what happens by the time we reach the halfway mark of BWI, it might never happen. Even so, it's probably 50/50, but... yeah, no, I have no idea myself. Not sure if even Muse wants to touch this subject... Julian has no set spell type of his own. I'll expand on that later. Probably in Trope Co. Well, now I know**–****

**Hold on a second; Muse had a good point about Lewis and Rumia. No, it wasn't rape. Absolutely not. Out of the fucking question. That's a subject I'm never touching on. Ever. All of you go get your minds out of the gutters and go take a cold fucking shower, you can get back to me then. I refuse to write absolutely anything _WHATSOEVER _about that kind of topic. I never have, and I never will. If that's what you were thinking; are you for real right now? If that's what you were hoping; no. I... just no. No.**

**_Kishida Kyodan &amp; The Akeboshi Rockets_: "YU-MU"**

**– TOUHOU –**

It was _carnage._

In front of them, only a flimsy metal balcony extending into the darkness, supported by chains hanging in the air. Barely twenty feet down, the steel had been twisted, smashed apart and dashed to pieces like glass shards. Julian backed away from thed edge. "Yumemi?"

"Over there," she said as she jogged past him. Leaping from the balcony to a nearby ladder, pulling herself on top of the boiler. "Watch out – it's pretty hot…"

As he followed her, he took the chance to look around some more. "What happened here?"

"I did."

They both turned – and saw Lewis, half-hidden in darkness with a hand to his neck. Julian blinked in surprise. "Lewis, you–"

"Oh, no worries," muttered the soldier. With a grunt, he drew his hand away from his neck and dropped something to the ground. A syringe now emptied. "If I'm even remotely close to being right, I'll be dead by nightfall."

"What?" He teetered briefly. How was he supposed to respond to something like that?

Yumemi stepped past him. "Lewis. You can still come back. You're not irredeemable."

Lewis laughed aloud, spitting to the side. "You _think_ I want your acceptance? Because I don't." Stepping out into the orange light of the boiler, they could see just how brutalized his body was… and how he was still itching for this fight. "I accepted death seventy years ago – it just never came for me is all." Then, his face changed from almost serene and peaceful to twisted and furious. "I launched campaigns, massacred hundreds, waged wars, performed unspeakable crimes in hopes of getting what's coming to me, and yet I still… can't… _die!_"

"Oh, come on!" Never mind he was talking to a potentially unstable psychopath, Julian still had to mention it. "It's been _seventy_ years, Lewis! Let it go!"

"They were more than just comrades, Julian…" Lewis turned away, hands on the railing as what remained of the Gears of Genesis continued turning. "They were like… no, they _were_… brothers to me. They still are." His hands clenched, hardened steel crunching in his grip. "And this wretched land took them away. It took them _all_ away. I made it pay. I made everyone here pay. So now, the only thing left for me to do is kill you… and die."

Yumemi made a soft noise and shook her head in disgust. "You're insane."

_"Heh…"_

All three of them jumped as another voice spoke up. Lewis whipped around, a pressure bomb at the ready. Julian and Yumemi inched forward, peeking around him to see what had taken his attention. Yumemi put a hand to her mouth. "Jo…!"

_"Ufu… fufu…"_ Lazarus' body steamed at the joints as she raised her head, pressing a hand to the metallic spear Lewis had run through her chest. _"More than insane… Okazaki."_

"You!" Lewis stalked forward, hand raised. "How are you still alive!?"

_"I, for one… am not chained by your morals."_ With a horrible scraping of metal, Lazarus ran a sharp spike of bonelike metal along the pillar. _"You would call me disgusting… but have you ever looked at yourself?"_

Lewis halted – but only briefly before resuming his walk.

_"You say morals and ethics and emotions are _so~oo_ powerful, but you're certainly not one who believes in that."_

"What the hell are you…" Lewis suddenly sped up, rushing down Lazarus. With a single haymaker punch, his pressure bomb finally went off, blowing the doctor down the length of the column. "TALKING ABOUT, DAMMIT!?"

Her feet scraping at the ground, Lazarus skidded to a halt near the end. She reached up to the column – and _ripped_ herself free of it, almost immediately collapsing without any spinal support. _"Look at yourself. I am a crime against humanity, but you're no different, Lewis!"_ She began to backed away, leaning on the railings for support as she crawled closer to the gaping hole behind her. _"Who are you to challenge my ideals? I have advanced a dimension's knowledge of the universe… I surpassed the barrier between worlds… there is no God, save for that which we humans will become!"_ She looked up into his eyes as her foot finally backed up to the edge of the balcony. _"And at that point, morals will matter no longer, Lewis."_

His eyes widened as she closed her eyes and leaned back… falling off the edge of the balcony. "Damn you, Lazarus, get BACK HERE!" Just then, there was a sound of shearing steel above him, along with the almost silent whoosh of a falling object. Spinning on his heel, the soldier leapt backwards as several machines fell into the pit with Lazarus – and began to spark, gouts of flame and rivers of magma flowing.

Illuminated in that sinister light, he could see the mad doctor, extending a hand upwards as she landed heavily on the surface of a conveyor belt. Even over their vast distance, he could easily make out her stilted words. _"This is the true power of science, Lewis! The power born when freed of the shackles of morals! All you do is hinder progress, hinder our greatest apotheosis!"_

Barely visible amidst the crashing and warping steel, only lit by the showers of sparks and magma below, Lazarus quickly vanished into a shell of solid steel, her voice still roaring outwards. _"Gods rot away, just like anything else, Lewis! God is DEAD! God will REMAIN dead! God has died, for we have killed Him… killed Him, so humans might TAKE! HIS! **PLACE!"**_

Julian hastily backed up as a gigantic steel rod slammed upwards through the balcony less than a foot in front of him. At second glance, it wasn't a rod, but rather hundreds – maybe even _thousands_ – of interlocking steel plates, as fluid and flexible as any human limb. "Yumemi, what is that thing!?"

The professor blanched as she peered over the side. "So that's what it was… _Moralishe Missachtung…"_

The agent raised an eyebrow at the odd phrase. "Was that… was that German?"

She nodded. "Yes. German for… for defiance of morals. I never thought she'd actually build it…!"

"Alright, alright." Julian held his hands in the air, his brow twitching. "There's nihilism, then there's the Ubermensch, but this is getting ridiculous!"

Lazarus cackled, a high, shrill piercing sound as she pulled herself back from the cavernous depths. Once again, her form had changed, this time barely even resembling something human. Metal coils wrapped all over her body, itself a seething mass of incomprehensible electronics, lava running off her shoulders as the colossal figure gathered itself. There were no words to describe it – it was completely and utterly beyond any and all comprehension, the only even remotely identifiable portion of it being Lazarus herself. The doctor had seemingly been hastily grafted to it from the wasit up, her arms melding back into the structure, leaving only her head truly free.

_"Fuck philosophy!"_ she roared gleefully as the Missachtung activated, a flurry of metallic jabs shredding the floor they stood on like wet cardboard. _"Fuck morality!"_ As she whipped around, a splash of magma raining down on them, Yumemi snagged Julian out of the air and pushed off to the side. _"Fuck ethics!"_

Yumemi fell heavily to the conveyor belt, both she and Julian rolling aside as a colossal piston slammed down with incredible force. "Okay, I take it back; let's get out!"

_"Fuck religion!"_ Turning her attention away from them, Lazarus instead focused on Lewis. Tearing her arms free, she slashed with her arm, a rain of shrapnel launched as if from a Gatling gun. _"Fuck stagnation!"_ With a sudden shriek of accelerating engines, the _entire Missachtung_ shot forward, rapidly closing in on Lewis as the mad doctor lashed out, another steel coil all but caving his chest in and smacking him out of the air. **_"FUCK ALL OF IT!"_**

As Lewis slammed against another grinding machine, he scrabbled at the front of his coat, quickly driving another syringe into his neck. Death by poisoning be damned at this point, he wanted his vindication against these people!

_"Nihilism is bullshit!"_ Not giving him any time to recover, Lazarus crashed the entire Missachtung into the machinery, steel coils unwrapping and trying to strangle Lewis as he weaved and ducked through the tangle of cables. _"Don't bother with pointless banter that convinces no one! Don't waste your own time and everyone else's on useless depression-inducing speeches of how useless life is! Step up to the plate…"_

"God fucking _damn it!"_ Lewis landed on a colossal, slowly moving gear and watched as the Missachtung continued looming closer and closer. He raised his hands in front of himself, ready to fight. "I _hate_ psycho docs…"

_"Stop wasting what little life you have and **DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"**_ With an echoing bang, Lazarus pulled herself free of the Missachtung just as it fired off, leaving the bizarre monstrosity hurtling towards him – as _she_ broke out in the _other_ direction, her body rebuilt with the pieces of the Missachtung.

Yumemi backed up as Lazarus smashed to the ground in front of her. As the mad doctor rose, they could finally see just _how_ she'd rebuilt herself. It was definitely not a clean job – sharp edges jutted out at the oddest angles, what looked to be part of a boiler made up one leg and part of her torso. An arm of welded, warped steel, its opposite seemingly composed of pipes. Something that could have passed as a respectable cannon seemed to have been hastily slapped onto one leg, with her arm partially comprised of half-assimilated… assault rifles? It was all a very patchwork creation, but judging from Lazarus herself, there was still something to be said about it.

"Professor…" Yumemi unclipped her cape, setting it on the floor without ever breaking eye contact. "How far have you fallen?"

_"Okazaki,"_ sneered Lazarus. _"You always did have an infatuation with the metaphysical. Why?"_

"Science is what lets us know; what is this?" She snapped on an odd black glove, red lines flickering to life as she flexed her fingers. "And through faith, we learn; what does this mean?"

_"You won't learn anything from the raving of a six millennia-old madman,"_ spat Lazarus. _"And I'll prove it to you, right here and right now!"_

The professor closed her eyes briefly and quietly muttered under her breath, "… I'm sorry, Josef."

**– TOUHOU –**

"Get up, Julian…"

His mind was foggy. It was Lazarus… yes, Lazarus… after ejecting from the Missachtung, she'd crashed into their platform. He fell, didn't he? Yes, he did… the handgun… no, he must have dropped it somewhere…

A sharp, pinpoint pain in his neck. Then, a strange sensation as a wave of cold swept through his body, starting from that one point. Something in his mind clicked once more. The Lichtenberg scar was beginning to hurt again.

The pain receded, Julian slowly blinking open his eyes. Lit by the orange glow of fire and lava below them, he could just barely make out the grim face of Lewis as he lifted an empty syringe from Julian's neck and threw it away. "Nnn… what…?"

Lewis didn't respond immediately, instead grabbing another needle, this one full. How many did he filch from Lazarus? Julian lost track of his thoughts as he jabbed the second needle into his neck. Once again, the lightning fractal on his back spasmed, something else springing to life in his mind.

_A ruinous cathedral, bloodstains dotting the walls and floor–_

_A soft light high above, a deep, ringing voice as ringing bells echoed in the distance– _

_A sheet of paper, signed at the bottom with "J. Lazarus" and "E. Nahash"–_

What?

Julian's mind cleared. His vision returned properly, this time in proper focus. Lewis nodded in mild satisfaction, rolling the agent away to the ground. "This is it, agent… my final mission, and one you'll help me with…" As Julian struggled to recover from yet another catastrophic fall, Lewis only continued. "My campaign is over, and yet I still find myself trapped!" He turned back to him, a grim look on his face. "My war is over… but we still have a score to settle."

Julian finally felt his strength return – but with something else pulsing through his veins. His heart was pounding, a sharp, stabbing pain prickling at his insides, but his heart itself did not hurt…

_"Anyone without the Master's Blessing will die within twenty four hours–"_

_An unknown man in dark red robes, clapping him on the shoulder with a bottle of whiskey in hand–_

_A scalpel slowly digging into his flesh, yet he felt no pain–_

"I said, get _up._"

Julian acquiesced, slowly propping himself up on one knee. In front of him, Lewis backed away slowly, waiting for him to rise from the floor. They only had about thirty feet of floor to work with now…

Lewis reached into his coat, emptying its pockets of absolutely everything – daggers, lighters, firearms, everything – and then threw them to the floor, kicking them over the side. "It's about time, agent."

The agent silently gauged his own condition as he raised his fists. Something in that syringe was messing with his head… Knowledge he had no way of knowing, seeping into his mind… someone else's memories, blending with his own…

The soldier set his foot behind him as he settled into his own ready stance. The sight of it sent another bolt through Julian's mind as an unknown memory returned to him…

_"Are you insane, Josef!? You know, better than anyone, what happens in–"_

_A man dressed in pitch-black, torn robes, his face concealed by his hood as he swung a double-bladed ivory scythe into the air–_

_A hand cloaked in unnatural crimson hellfire, smashing into Darius' chest and sending him tumbling down the length of an obsidian hallway–_

**[What are we even writing at this point!? Unlucky Morpheus – Irresponsible Sky]**

"Julian!" He was snapped out of his thoughts as Lewis drew an arm back. "Show me what you've got!"

The agent reacted without thinking, lunging forward as he extended his arm to strike Lewis. The soldier barely moved, leaning to the side as he grabbed Julian's arm and threw him to the ground. Backing away, Lewis reassumed his previous stance as Julian got back on his feet, ready to continue their fight.

_Why isn't he using his powers?_

That brief thought shot through his mind as Julian dashed forward, snapping a leg up only for Lewis to tuck in his arm, the agent's foot only glancing off harmlessly against his forearm. Pushing down his leg and throwing him off balance, Lewis swept his arm up and all but clotheslined Julian and sent him to the ground once more.

"C'mon, put up a fight!" Lewis snapped back his arm, smashing his fist down – to meet solid steel, Julian rolling out of the way. Once more, the fighting paused as Julian got up.

"Lewis, what are you…?" There was something wrong with him. Behind those narrowed, focused eyes was some sort of desperation… but what was it? The soldier didn't respond, instead sliding in and preparing for another assault on Julian. He copied what he saw the soldier do just a moment ago, bringing up his arm to block the blow and turning, slamming Lewis to the floor. As he backed away, another memory that wasn't his sparked…

_"Momentum is your best friend, alright? It's pretty simple, you know; close combat. Just gotta learn the basics–"_

_"It's only a prototype Seed of Eden, so it might have some side effects. For instance, your magic will be gone for about–"_

_He was turning over a knife in hand. Black, with a five-wave design on the kris knife. "Nice weapon. It'll work when–" _

Lewis got up, a look of frustration on his face as he threw another punch. Closing his hand around Lewis' arm, Julian twisted around to behind him – one of the few maneuvers he knew. The soldier wasn't even fazed, quickly turning – in the _other_ direction, slamming his elbow across Julian's face. He fell, barely stopping his fall before turning back around. The agent suddenly pushed off from the ground, ready for another attack as Lewis tensed.

He _didn't_ strike, instead grabbing Julian by the shoulders and shoving him downwards, driving his knee up to meet him halfway. As soon as he felt Julian tense, the soldier tossed him aside and jumped backwards as Julian rose to his feet once more. There was a dull pain in his gut, and this constant headache and confusion wasn't helping matters…

"You're better than I expected, Julian," said Lewis. "I really expected you to be dead or dying by now, so… good work." Unclipping his coat, he tossed that aside carelessly and ripped off his aviator's goggles. "Looks like you might be a contender after all!"

Without warning, he darted forward, instantly throwing a wide hook as he did. Julian just barely managed to react in time, bringing up his arms defensively as he hammered blows on him – and switched gears, punching him once, twice in the gut. The agent choked, a sudden wave of nausea hitting him – and then something much more painful hitting him as Lewis feinted, what looked like a gut punch instead turning into a painful uppercut.

"We've barely even started," snarled Lewis. Pulling in his arm, he spun around and struck Julian across the face with his elbow once more. When he managed to at least deflect the attack to the side, Lewis instead simply threw another punch, this one aimed at his side. "Don't tell me you're already out if it!"

Julian teetered as he backed away, having found himself on the very edge of the platform all too quickly. He glanced over his shoulder and then back, Lewis already throwing one last haymaker to knock him over that last inch…

His arm snapped up, pushing aside the otherwise-finishing blow at the cost of almost certainly bruising said arm. Barely slowing down, Lewis simply continued whirling, this time trying to backhand Julian over the edge. A move that almost worked – he could actually _feel_ the empty air beneath the back half of his foot. Even so, he took advantage of Lewis' brief moment of complacency when he thought the battle won and grabbed Lewis' arm, holding him in place.

"Get off me, dammit!" Lewis used his free arm to swing, smacking Julian's head. His grip loosened – but didn't break. Another dizzying impact from the soldier, but he forced his way through it as he returned the favour, smashing his own elbow across the back of Lewis' head. With a chance to seize the offensive, Julian took it and advanced on Lewis, a half-circle kick swinging around for his side.

The soldier easily deflected the hit with a mocking sneer. Julian threw two quick right jabs, each one effortlessly blocked – and then launched a left hook, the sudden switch successfully breaking Lewis' defense.

"What the…" Lewis' expression of shock quickly turned to anger as he tried to block Julian's sudden flurry of kicks. "Where did you learn that? _Where!?"_

_A lightning-quick spin kick, his red scarf trailing his movement as his enemy reeled. The black knife snapped up, ready to kill–_

_"There's a reason biotech is outlawed, Jo! We have to stop, have to call off the experiment–"_

_"Without the Master's Blessing, you'll go mad almost instantly. Magic follows shortly after, and then the body fails. Only Famine knows how to–"_

Coming to a sudden halt, Julian leaned low and pushed off with his leg, a foot connecting solidly with Lewis' gut and pushing him down the platform. Thumping his foot on the ground, he kicked off into the air, intending to use his own weight to knock Lewis over – only for the soldier to _grab_ him right out of the air, spinning him around before throwing Julian to the ground painfully. "Fuck you!" Flipping over, Lewis performed an excruciating elbow drop on the downed Julian. _"Fuck you, Julian!"_

The agent groaned quietly, trying to focus on the soldier – only to have his vision whirl as something was sent slamming across his cheek, a heavy weight crushing his chest as Lewis dropped his knee on him.

"Don't get in my way! _Never_ get in my way!" Lewis screamed as he struck Julian again and again, his eyes lit with a blind rage. "Die, die, die, die, die, die, _die, die, die, die, DIE, DIE, DIIIIEEEE!"_

His own knuckles beginning to bleed from the repeated abuse, Lewis slowed down, a former brutal assault weakening into merely dropping a loose fist on his face. Breathing heavily, the soldier gathered just enough strength to throw one last proper punch. His demeanour had changed – once tensed and ready for anything, he was now loose and almost unhinged. "Ahaha… ha… hahaha…"

_"Trust me; with the right amount of focus, the human body is practically unstoppable–"_

_A folder of papers labelled MEDICINAL RECORDS: J. MELISS–_

_Surveying a bloodied lab coat, pulling a fresh one on and turning to leave, grabbing a white hat from a rack–_

Julian cracked open his eyes at the giggling soldier – and struck, throwing a single punch at Lewis. As the soldier's laughter halted abruptly, Julian desperately struck again. Lewis reeled – and was sent staggering as Julian pressed his foot against his chin and kicked upwards in a brutal payback of the soldier's uppercut. Lewis fell to the ground some distance away from him, giving him a chance to finally try and get up… but only _try_. The sheer amount of damage Lewis had inflicted on him had left him in a truly gruesome state. He could barely rise to one knee before only falling over again.

His fight was over.

**– TOUHOU –**

It was silent to them. Yumemi would have fallen back to check on Julian (where did he go?), but Lazarus definitely didn't seem interested in letting her pursue that train of thought. The only sound was the continuous clash of weapons in the ruins of the Missachtung.

Yumemi skidded, nearly tripping as Lazarus flung another powerful strike. Raising her arm, the sleeve had been partially burned away by her choice weapon as she fought – a single, dark glove with red lines running back along her arm, heated vents having seared her sleeve during her skirmish. At least it more than made up for that; as she raised her arm to block the mad doctor's strike, the red lines expanded, one ray of solid light running backwards from the back of her hand along her forearm, another red beam perpendicular to it – a cross.

_"Ha!"_ Lazarus stepped to the side as Yumemi counterattacked, her guard dissipating and rapidly reforming as she thrust an almost spear-like blast of red light at her. _"You always did love Christianity! Why, Yumemi? Such a learned professor and a master of quantum physics, subscribing to religion?"_

The professor narrowed her eyes as Lazarus straightened. The metal of her arm melted apart and pushed some sort of firearms barrel forward. Yumemi leapt aside as a blast of shrapnel was sent her way, rolling a small orb along the ground – one that quickly exploded into a fiery burst. "I won't bother explaining it to you." Jumping back forward, Yumemi slashed with her hand, a thin trail of red light following her movements and slicing open Lazarus' body as easily as it would hot butter. "You lost your capacity to understand when you lost your capacity for morality!"

_"Don't bother trying to feed me those lies!"_ Grabbing Yumemi's hand as she tried to aim for her head, Lazarus flipped the professor right over her own back and sent her crashing to the ground with almost bone-breaking force. _"If you're right and I'm wrong, then prove it!"_

"And I will!" Yumemi dashed forward, slamming her palm against Lazarus' surprised face. "I will, and I'll show you what progression _really_ means! Not just progress for progress' sake, but the progression of humanity, Josef!"

_BANG!_

The mad doctor ground to a halt, her feet carving trenches in the floor as she slowed down, a hand concealing her face. It fell away, her bloodied features once more visible. _"That's more like it."_ Reaching up, Lazarus dug her fingers into her own chest – and _tore it open,_ several metal coils reshaping themselves in the exposed wound. But the real show was what lay almost directly in the middle of her chest – a mechanical heart, now beating so rapidly it should have been all but impossible, an unsettling white light forming within it. _"COME ON!"_

The ground beneath them fractured, a sudden sharp stench of ozone filling the air. Yumemi realized that the steel platform had changed, a sudden series of twisting and turning marks having burnt themselves into the metal in the blink of an eye. They almost looked like the roots of a tree, like a fractal… like a lightning bolt!

**_"Statera Iusta Statera… HARBINGER FAMINE!"_**

**– TOUHOU –**

**Final note, I'd like someone who's actually seen the works of Nietzsche to confirm if we're even remotely close to the mark. He contradicts himself so much we pretty much just gave up on him...**


	16. Famine

**Aw yeah, we're finally back in business! I realize this took a while, but hey, better late than never... right?**

***crickets***

**Um, yeah... oh, reviews! Right!**

**Hackery: I'm a terrible person. I did it again. I'm sorry for all these cliffhangers, I really am! I didn't even mean to use so many... Julian actually might not have plot armour, believe it or not. Yumemi and most 2hus have plot armour, though. Lewis... well, you already know. His manner of death was a little... different from planned, though... Radical OCs? Well, breaking from the norm is always fun; DitR practically jump-started an entire chapter on OC creation, and let's face it; you thought this was just another boring Gappy Sue story at first, didn't you? (That wasn't a mecha btw... but now it might be. I blame Schrodinger's Gun). The other OCs weren't retconned, they were just one-scene characters because sending in the 2hus wouldn't make much sense at the time. Thanks for the review! But I don't know about them pills...**

**Tez7: Niji isn't mine, he's the OC of another author that I borrowed for a small cameo. He might come back, but probably not as an important character. Sorry about that.**

**AP will be quite a departure from standard this time; "Zen Ball Master" from the _Kung Fu Panda OST. _When I first saw the movie, I did not expect this kind of music, but holy hell is it epic. Also, 60K words! Whoo!**

**– TOUHOU –**

Lewis stopped dead in his tracks as a blinding light sprung to life above them. Narrowing his eyes, a smile danced on his lips. "Alright, Julian. Looks like I've got more important things to do." With a rough push, Julian hit the ground, the soldier having dropped him carelessly to the floor. "Don't worry; I'll be back for you."

Lazarus' eyes remained closed. Gone were the mechanical implants and the jumble of tangled wires. Gone was the gruesome visage of a broken doctor. Every injury, every cut and scar and wound and bruise on her body, was gone. Only one mark remained – a fractal figure etched into her back. Aside from that, it was as if she had never been harmed even once. Her lab coat had been thrown away, replaced with a flowing dark blue robe. Running all over the garment were lighter magenta lines, pulsing faintly as she moved. Her hat, disposed of. Her feet, now bare. There was an odd sort of tranquil beauty to her… but as she looked at what should have been a perfect visage, Yumemi only felt a cold dread. A terrifying, paralyzing horror that arose from no logical source, yet existed beyond any doubt.

This wasn't something meant to be seen, was it?

"Senses…" she breathed almost inaudibly. Brushing back her now waist-length hair, Lazarus pressed a hand against one ear, then the other. "We are flawed, Yumemi." When she drew her palm away, there was a plate of ornate metal, locked into place and seemingly deafening her. Still without opening her eyes, Lazarus reached into the folds of her robe, drawing a pristine strip of cloth from it. "Even when the world seems silent, it never really is. There is always ambience, faint but present, in what you believe to be a perfect silence." She laid the cloth over her eyes and tied it, blindfolding herself. "So once, there was an experiment. A room was created with an ambience of negative nine decibels, when the standard ambience is thirty."

On her back, the mark of the Wildcard distorted. Lighting up without warning, it expanded to either side, solidifying as twin wings of pure light. "When presented with said room, no human could bear its silence for longer than an hour. Any further, and they would be driven mad, their sanity ripped to shreds by the lack of anything around them." Reaching up, Lazarus revealed her hand, a single light blue strip of cloth hanging from it. Her mouth curled into a smile. "And that's only one of the senses. With complete and utter sensory deprivation, we can ascend, Yumemi. An out-of-body experience, prolonged into our eternal waking life. Lifetimes experienced in seconds."

Slowly, Lazarus began to seal her mouth shut, tugging the cloth into an unbreakable knot. And yet, despite her inability to hear, see, speak, or do _anything_, she still spoke, a hollow tone as if speaking from the bottom of a well. _"Fear not the Famine, Yumemi… Fear what it exposes within you…"_

Her wings distorted once more, their light fading in an instance as Lazarus retreated into the shadows. Yumemi finally snapped out of her shock. She took a step forward – and froze in her tracks as the world around her… _changed._ The dim light of the boilers blinked out like a candle in the wind, the faint rumble of machinery vanished in an instant like someone had pulled the plug on a speaker. Even Yumemi herself felt its effects.

"Gah!" The professor reeled as a sudden bout of weightlessness struck her. She threw out an arm to stop her fall as she tripped… but she couldn't find the floor. Yumemi felt a sudden rush of pain as her head thumped against the floor, but it vanished just as quickly. Patting her hands along in front of her, she could tell she was standing on _something_, but she didn't know what it was! Her fingers had gone numb, unable to tell apart any surfaces as she stood. Opening her eyes, she realized just what Lazarus truly meant.

She couldn't see.

Yumemi gasped in surprise as the revelation struck her – but she didn't. She couldn't hear. Whipping around, the professor felt an awful sensation, as if the world was spinning beneath her feet when it wasn't at all. Stumbling back and forth blindly, Yumemi fell to the ground once more, the chill in her heart fading away. Fading… but not warming. Instead, it simply felt as if there was nothing in her. As if she were… empty.

_This is what a true famine is,_ Lazarus crooned softly into her brain as Yumemi tried to get back up, only to fall over once more. The words were not spoken, but instead somehow planted directly in her mind. _This is not starvation of the body; this is a starvation of the mind…_

"Nnngh… get… out…!" The professor blindly crawled along the floor – and felt it give way beneath her. For one second, she felt weightlessness, followed by another nauseating rush of numbness.

_It's too late, anyways._ Lazarus giggled softly, her voice echoing within Yumemi's skull. _You've lost all sensation, anyways. You can't see, can't hear, can't feel… I don't even have to lift a finger. You'll go mad all on your own, and I get to watch~_

"Lazarus, you worthless double-dealing _shit!"_

_BOOM!_

Yumemi let out a breath as her senses flooded back. The darkness backed away slightly, giving way to Lewis' figure above her, his hands crackling with energy. "Get up, prof. How do I kill this bastard?" She didn't respond immediately, so he snapped his fingers impatiently. Some distance away, Lazarus had seemingly been blasted down the length of the catwalk, her shape hidden by her wings, curled protectively around her body. "We ain't got all day!"

"Heh… you're still as gullible as ever… aren't you, Dawson?" Unfurling her wings, Lazarus revealed herself to have barely even been fazed by his pressure bomb. Not even a single scratch on her skin, the only signs of damage being her mildly scorched wings – and even those showed minimal amounts of damage. "This is what we, the Harbingers, are capable of." Her wings broke up, lines running from her back to the tips separating them from two to four, then eight, then sixteen, before they spread, lancing out and spearing into the walls of the factory. A horrible sickly green glow emanated from them, starting at her back and rushing down the lines. "We do not die. We survive, and continue to fight for time eternal. By the blessings of Eden, we are one era's destruction… and the saviours of another!"

The darkness returned, this time in full force. Yumemi quickly lost sight of Lewis, but his brief cry of surprise meant he must have felt the doctor's power, too. She could shut down all of their senses, and she seemed to barely lift a finger to do it… how could they beat her?!

_You'll never leave this place alive!_

**– TOUHOU –**

"So… looks like I might have to reap you again for the second time in two weeks." With a sideways flick of his cloak to get it out of the way, Goukei crouched by Julian's side. The agent seemed to be unconscious again. "I really gotta ask – the fuck are you?" Under his eyepatch, there was a quiet whirring as he tried to find the answer to that same question. "Not alive, not dead, nothing in between… huh!"

Shrugging to no one in particular, he suddenly stiffened. "Well, I guess this isn't the first time I've seen your case… _Ehud!"_

Quick as lightning, he whipped around, flinging his scythe end over end through the air into the darkness above. With just as much speed, there was a clang of clashing steel as Ehud dropped from overhead, landing deftly beside Goukei. Sheathing his kris knife, Ehud held a hand into the air, the ex-shinigami's scythe dropping into his hand at almost the exact same time. "You seem to have dropped this."

Goukei smirked as he took back his weapon. "Thanks. Now, if you don't mind, you'd best scram. I'm pretty sure I've got two very pissy firebombers after me right now – if I didn't know better, I'd say it was a case of the bloody Mond–"

"You want to resuscitate him." It wasn't a question.

The oni sighed heavily. "Yeah, I kinda do. What about it, _Nahash?_" Using formality as a weapon for once, he added, "Wildcard's a damn good planner, but even she gets spanners dropped in her works sometimes. I'm just the guy who doubles back and makes sure to pull out those wrenches."

"That is my mission." Ehud narrowed his eyes as realization struck him. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Of course I knew," he responded breezily. "Everything dies one day, and Lazarus isn't any different. Why can't I use that knowledge to make some better plans?"

"Meliss is no replacement for Lazarus. She's smarter, stronger, more skilled…"

"Oh-ho! Getting' a little touchy-feely there with her, are ya?"

_Shnk._ Ehud pressed the tip of his knife against Goukei's throat without a single word – a silent yet obvious threat. _Not another word._

"Alright, I give." Swallowing, he backed away, raising his hands. Immortal though he was, having a knife shoved down your throat still wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone. "One way or another, we death gods can't step in to change someone's lifespan. More often than not, whatever we try only sets up the circumstances that killed them in the first place. It's just too damn risky to try and tweak lifespans because aside from giving our _own_ lifespan to them, there's no guaranteed way without gambling with a time paradox."

"And him?" The Blood Lightning gestured to the sleeping figure before them.

"I told you – we've got our next Harbinger already, and he's right at our feet. _Right now."_

Ehud's face was blank as he processed that statement. Goukei waited apprehensively; he'd said his piece to try and convince the iron-willed assassin. Now, all he could do was wait for his judgment. If Ehud decided Wildcard's orders were of more importance in this situation, or, even worse, if he saw through his ruse…!

"Fine," muttered the assassin. "Do as you please."

Goukei broke out into a relieved grin. "Thanks, Ehud. I knew I could count on y–"

_"But,"_ added Ehud, "I expect something in return."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He was already turning over Julian, pressing a hand to the center of the mark on his back. "Whaddya need?"

"The youkai of the void and the high priestess."

Goukei froze. After a moment of silence, another smile came across his face… not one of relief, but one of gruesome glee. "Deal." The ex-shinigami reminded himself to report to Geppetto later. He was going to be very happy about this…

**– TOUHOU –**

Another one!

Swinging the sword with as much effort as he would a butter knife and yet with a blade that was anything but, Darius carved his way through a wall of vines, forcing down the void blade to hack through it. Reaching in, he tore the remainders free and leapt through just as a trio of devastating lasers struck his previous standing point.

Yuuka tapped the ground with the tip of her parasol, more vines springing to life at her feet. "Mima-san, the dining hall. Marisa, chase." The ground beneath her feet crumbled, a vine thicker than all its companions lifting in her into the air. "Go!"

The gunslinger launched himself around the corner as another laser lanced past him down the hall. He had to reach the dream gate, he _had _to…! He slammed his blade down against the floor, arresting his momentum – and swinging around in the other direction, pulling the claymore free and _throwing_ it back down the length of the hallway.

"Whoa!" yelped Marisa. Tugging upwards on her broom, she watched as the sword continued spinning end over end, a buzzsaw of destruction rocketing down the corridor – and connecting soundly with Yuuka as she made to give chase. _"Yuuka!"_

"Oh… you'll definitely pay for that one…" hissed the flower youkai as she clapped a hand to her gut. Vines slithered under her fingers and tightened around the wound, staunching her bleeding. "I hope you don't mind if I just borrow your sword for one teensy moment!" And, with one flick of her wrist, Yuuka flung the claymore right back at its original tosser.

Darius ducked, the blade scything over him – right into an adjacent room with an echoing crash. He wouldn't have enough time to grab the sword and keep running, but it was just about his strongest weapon right now… of course. The gunslinger pressed his palm against the ground, streaks of light spreading out from his hand before quickly disappearing. He retreated into the room, feeling a brief thrill as the ground shook, his light mines setting off as they were tread upon. Now, where was his sword… there it was!

He reached for it – and hastily backed away, a crescent blade slashing at his hand. Mima dropped from the ceiling where she had laid in wait, swinging the staff again. "Loyhrs! You took something from me, and I want it back!"

Not even bothering to respond, he stepped in closer and grabbed Mima's staff, ripping it free of her grasp. He flung out his hand and shut his eyes, white light searing even through his eyelids. Catching the spirit's weapon as it fell, Darius batted the briefly stunned Mima out of the way, intent on recovering his sword. Twenty feet, ten feet, one foot…!

A black-white blur shot past him, his claymore vanishing in the blink of an eye. Marisa came to a halt, taunting him with his sword. "Hey! You want this back? Come and get it, ze!"

Darius growled softly. Whipping around, he flung the staff back at its owner, firing off a salvo of black danmaku for good measure. Turning back, he saw that Marisa had already taken off. She seemed to be leading him deeper into the mansion… First, he'd have to disable Marisa – the easiest target, and he'd be able to retrieve his sword. After that, he didn't need to stick around. All he had to do was settle some scores and then it'd be smooth sailing. Conjuring another black orb of energy, the gunslinger casually tossed it into the air behind him before dashing off in hot pursuit of the thieving witch. The orb expanded, rapidly swelling to take up the entire width of the room, locking off the pathway.

Ahead of him, Marisa finally slowed at the banks of a lake. Sliding off her broom, she dipped a finger in the red liquid cautiously. "What the…?"

"It's blood," sighed Yuuka.

The witch jumped in surprise. "Geez! Don't _do_ that; I was going to Spark you into next week…"

"Save it for our visitor," muttered the flower youkai, "who seems to be coming right about…"

_CRASH!_

"… now, actually." Dropping here parasol, Yuuka closed her eyes and focused, quickly building the magic she needed before Darius arrived. A mass of plants jumped to life at her feet, rapidly condensing and reshaping itself until it was a perfect carbon copy of Yuuka. "That's more like it." She turned her attention to the doors, hands at the ready. "Marisa!"

"What? Oh, right!"

With an echoing bang, Darius slammed open the doors, his hands crackling with energy – only to seize up as Yuuka and Marisa levelled their weapons at him.

_"Dual Spark!"_

_"MASTER SPARK!"_

He was in a narrow hallway. The corridor behind and ahead of him was too long to round the corners before he got blasted, it was too thin for him to try and sidestep, and the ceiling too low to jump... Darius closed his eyes, tearing off his longcoat. With a single flourish of the coat, he held it up in front of him – and _dropped_ it.

The garment fell – and _kept_ falling, sinking right into the ground and melting to a thick, almost syrupy pool of shadows. It rapidly spread at his feet, the gunslinger dropping into the darkness and vanishing from sight not a moment too soon. Just as his head sunk beneath the surface, all three magic lasers roared by overhead, carving huge chunks out of the walls as they fired on all four cylinders without rest before dying down.

Marisa lowered her Mini-Hakkero, breathing heavily. "Did we… did we get him, da ze?"

Yuuka didn't respond immediately, instead focusing on the aftermath. As someone so accustomed to postwar remains, she knew there was something wrong with this picture. Hold on… not even a triple Spark could completely wipe out all traces of his existence. At the very least, there should have been blood smeared across the floor where he had stood. So that would mean…

Behind her, there was a sound, like someone had jumped out of a body of water. _"Behind!"_ She spun, snatching up her parasol and bringing it around in a powerful swing to meet Darius' slash. In his hands, a blade of pure energy crackled, one half white and the other half black. Yuuka laughed aloud as she lashed out, a burst of strength sending Darius tumbling back to the ground. "Hahaha! You're good!"

The gunslinger rolled out of the way, a barrage of razor-edged vines bursting from the ground beneath him. Scrambling back onto his feet, Darius pushed off towards Yuuka – no, he was going for Marisa, going for his true sword!

Marisa, for her part, reacted quickly, hand snapping out with green light between her fingers. Darius' eyes widened, time almost seeming to slow as he approached at an angle, almost crouching as Marisa's bolt fired, heat scalding the side of his face – and resumed its full pace as he brought his fist upwards, black light glaring as he moved. No, it had only been a glancing blow; the witch had come aware of the danger and moved.

Which left his sword free for the taking once more.

"He's getting away!" Marisa hopped back on her broom, patting out the small fire on her sleeve. Darius had already retaken his sword and was currently tearing away down the Lake of Blood, carefully navigating between the many boulders jutting from its otherwise smooth surface.

The gunslinger kept his eyes focused on the far side of the lake. There it was; the towering sealed door. Behind it, he could finally enter the dream dimension in person properly. Once more sweeping his coat off his shoulders and throwing it to the lake, Darius dived into the fabric and melted away, a black shadow dashing away over the surface of the lake.

Yuuka smiled grimly as she watched Marisa zoom by as she chased Darius, the flower youkai continuing to float just over the water at her own pace. She could take her time – Marisa would probably keep him occupied long enough for her to catch up and crush him.

With one chasing, another being chased, and the last about to give chase, there was small wonder as to why none of them bothered to look back to where Darius had originally entered – and by extension, failing to see the shrine maiden and two monks that dashed into the room. For one second, they stopped to gauge the situation, and flew.

**– TOUHOU –**

_Pah. This is getting boring…_

Yumemi reeled, struggling to gather herself and register her whereabouts. There had to be something she could do, anything, but without touch, she couldn't use her weapons. Without hearing, she couldn't tell where anything else was, and without sight she couldn't even aim! The professor bit back a curse as she suddenly felt herself go from vertical to horizontal in an instant – Lewis was likely having just as much trouble as her.

_So you're hardier than I expected,_ murmured Lazarus. _Then again, I suppose you are the one who helped me get this far._ The pressure in Yumemi's head was building, blood roaring in her eardrums… _Alright. I'll make it quick for you – one last favour to an old friend. For what it's worth, thank you, Okazaki._

Yumemi instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, not that it made any difference. To her surprise, when she opened them again, she could see – and hear, and feel. What had happened?

Her eyes fell on Lewis, who seemed just as surprised as her as he lowered his hand. "Did that really just work?" All he'd done was fire blindly in the general direction of where he thought he last saw her…

Lazarus growled, an ancient curse passing her lips as she tried to lift herself from the rubble Lewis' pressure bomb had blasted her into. "Well done, Dawson. I didn't think anyone could aim that well… It looks like I'll just have to kill you normally!" As she dashed forward, something clicked in Yumemi's mind as she realized their senses weren't locked again…!

She turned to the soldier. "Lewis! Keep her occupied and we can deal with her!" Taken aback, he only nodded and leapt to meet the Harbinger's attack. As they clashed, Yumemi grabbed the catwalk's railing, pulling herself over the top and landing on one of the few remaining machines in the area – a colossal set of gears, constantly jittering and occasionally jamming as she tried to keep her balance on top. She knew that the Missachtung was less than a dozen feet beneath her, and if she remembered correctly, there should be several of Lazarus' vials down there – up to and including the acids. But as Yumemi moved, something caught her eye some distance away. Sliding down the side of another gear onto a relatively stable surface, she turned around to get a better view of it…

_Julian!_

"Hey!" hissed the professor, waving her arm. "Are you alright?"

"What?" Julian seemed just as surprised as her. "I'm good enough. Not sure why, but…"

Yumemi raised an eyebrow as she saw the glowing marks across his back, but made no comment. Instead, she pointed upwards at the duel above, then at the Missachtung's broken shell. "Keep her occupied – I'll be there soon!"

"But–"

"No buts! Get going!"

Mildly confused, Julian did as he was told. Hopping onto a conveyor belt to Yumemi's gear set, he grabbed onto one of the large teeth spinning upwards, his mind racing as he did. He could only barely remember what had happened after his fight with Lewis – two hazy dark red figures standing over him, saying something about making him another Harbinger… and then that rush of power, like he could take on the world. What had they done to him?

His world suddenly spun, another burst of memories crossing his mind…

_"There's a good reason we work together. The Master's Blessing isn't just for show; we can share memories, skills, thoughts, even–"_

_"It's an experimental process. I don't know why, but you seem to be almost immune to all damage. Most of us only have a type of contractual immortality against outside forces; I think you have contractual _invulnerability–"

_"He's gone rogue, alright? We have to kill him before he kills us; the only way Harbingers die short of using something no one can survive is another Harbinger and he–"_

Julian snapped out his thoughts as a yell of pain echoed down from above. He was still in the middle of something! Etched across his back, the Mark of the Wildcard begun to sting, growing in intensity as he climbed the ladder to the top. Throwing himself over the top, he watched as Lazarus swept up Lewis by the throat before whipping around and throwing him down the length of the catwalk. Then, she froze and held up her hand, a sickly green glow extending from her hand to Lewis, cloaking him from sight as he began to yell curses, blindly firing pressure bombs in every direction.

… To Julian, this was equal parts hilarious and terrifying.

He began running. He didn't know what he was going to do when he got to her, but he'd figure something out. Oh man, this went against everything he stood for, but…! "Hey, Lazarus!" The doctor whipped around, throwing her hand out towards him – but he powered right through the green mist, seemingly completely unaffected by it. Julian only vaguely registered her odd appearance as he swept his fist around–

_"A Harbinger is not invincible, Ehud. We can be injured, we can feel pain, but we can't normally die. The only thing that can kill a Harbinger is another–"_

_"Proxies of the Master, all of us–"_

_"… same person, in a manner of speaking. Your power doesn't work on me because we're technically one being and vice versa–"_

… and smashed into Lazarus. For one brief moment, he saw a faint neon green barrier crackling around her, just like the one Ehud had – and shattered like glass, shards spinning every which way as she reeled from the blow. Lewis gasped as the green mist fell away, dissipating into the air. The doctor growled, ripping off her blindfold as the barrier rebuilt itself around her figure. "What!? Impossible! You should be dead! How could you – no…!" She looked at her feet – no, at the floor, seeing something beneath the catwalk, eyes narrowed in hate. "Goukei, you backstabbing–"

Julian staggered as something blasted by him, smashing into Lazarus with bone-breaking force and dragging her face-first down the length of the catwalk. "I don't know what you just did…" grunted the soldier as Lazarus jumped up, matching his strength as they wrestled for dominance, "but hurry up and do it again!"

The agent overcame his shock quickly, nodding as he built up speed once more. Lazarus spat another archaic curse, tearing away the plating over her ears and smashing one of them against Lewis' face. As he stumbled, she slugged him once, twice, three times in the stomach – but felt him catch the last hit, twisting her arm behind her and pivoting to face Julian, Lazarus between them. "Pick up the goddamn pace!"

He ran faster, closing the distance as Lazarus and Lewis continued wrestling. For one brief moment, he was terrified he would strike the soldier by accident, but then Lazarus hopped away from him, her back unknowingly turned to him. Hair following her movement, she turned back around to catch his blow… just an instant too late. As the strike made contact, the barrier cracked, another splatter of memory etching itself into his mind…

_"You don't understand! Today's laws are tomorrow's crimes, Yumemi! You've seen it yourself–"_

_"What kind of professor are you!? All I want is to see humanity's advance, and all you want is to halt that–"_

His world suddenly went from rightside-up to upside-down, Lazarus whipping out with a high kick that instantly sent him crashing to the floor. Not missing a beat, Lewis jumped in to cover for his temporary ally, giving Julian the time he needed to recover. He noticed that Lazarus' barrier was reforming once more, but as it did, she was feeling the full force of Lewis' strikes…

"Lewis! Julian!" They both stopped, turning to see Yumemi, some sort of colossal cannon that looked more suited on a battleship than as an infantry weapon. _"DUCK!"_

Julain heeded her advice, spreading himself out on the ground. Lewis, however, realized Lazarus had caught on as well as Yumemi clumsily brought the cannon to bear. Reaching out, he grabbed Lazarus and spun her around, planting her directly in Yumemi's sights. "Hell no, you don't!"

"Wait!" Despite his reservations, the agent couldn't help but feel a pang of concern for the soldier. "Lewis, let her go!"

"Not a chance," he snarled.

Julian turned to Yumemi. "Turn it off!"

"I can't – it has to be fired or it overloads and we _all _die!"

"Don't see why you're worrying about me!" Lewis yelled over the ever-increasing whine of the cannon. He grimaced as Lazarus lashed out and drove her elbow into his gut to break free, but he ignored it. The cannon was warming up, was almost ready to fire…

"Lewis, get down!" Julian yelled. _"What the hell are you doing!"_

"The world a favour" was the only response he got. "You better finish the job for me!"

"You're going to _die!"_

Lewis smiled darkly as he put Lazarus into a chokehold, refusing to grant her freedom. "Tell me something I don't know."

Yumemi closed her eyes, flicking the last switch on the cannons' barrel – and fired.


	17. The Searching Ones

***loud crash of repeatedly slamming head against keyboard***

**Months and months and months of waiting... Sorry, it's just been a great awful mess lately. First, I had to stop for school. Then, two weeks of summer school. Next week will be wilderness camp. For two weeks after that, road trip. Badminton every night. Volunteer work. RP'ing. Rediscovering old games. I've just found pretty much zero time to chat with Muse, so we haven't been able to work on this. Bonus; I had to reread this to actually get reacquainted with it. Anyone who has tried to read their own work is... you know what it's like.**

**I just really can't say much besides... well, I'm sorry.**

**If you're interested, try taking a look at _Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia _and "The Colossus".**

**– TOUHOU –**

_He opened his eyes lethargically. His body ached with a dull pain... didn't it? No, it may have been closer to a numb feeling – where the feeling of not feeling lends itself to an unpleasantness; the only way most could register it. Where was he?_

_Those red flowers... the fog... and that endless expanse of water, reaching into infinity..._

_As he cast his eye around, he couldn't help but admit that there was a sort of charm to the Sanzu River. The flowers that waved ever so softly in an endless field, swaying in a nonexistent breeze. The constant flow of water, trickling from an unknown source to an unknown destination. A quiet, sombre aura, almost melancholic. Almost... but not quite._

_"Oh! I didn't think there'd be visitors here."_

_He wasn't alone, it seemed. There was a girl there with him, her vibrant yellow hair falling down her back in a soft arc. She seemed to be wearing a set of dark purple robes, and her eyes – the same shade of darkened purple, but with a hint of wistfulness behind them. If he didn't know better, he would have believed this to be the notorious Yukari Yakumo. However, whereas the gap youkai always exuded the same quiet air of carefully masked calculation, this girl was much different. How hadn't he seen her earlier?_

_First things first; he wanted to know her name. When he spoke it aloud, she simply shrugged silently. She clearly didn't plan on answering._

_Why was she there?_

_"Death, obviously. Well, not entirely. I can't see the other side from here, and no one wants to ferry me across. Until the rest of me dies, I'm stuck."_

_That was confusing. What did she mean by that?_

_"I'm not supposed to be here, you know. I should be living a quiet, happy life back in my own world. But I saw a chance for adventure and took it... permanently binding me to my counterparts here."_

_He asked her where they were. The strange girl giggled, considering it a silly question. "The Sanzu River, of course! Where else would we be?"_

_He needed to know if they were dead, voicing the question to her._

_She frowned, as if unsure of what to make of that question. "You're..." The girl smiled slightly. "I see now. Ah..."_

_What did she mean?_

_"You should be dead. In fact, you are. But..." She glanced around surreptitiously. "Okay, we're clear. Technically, your time is up, but until they come to collect, you've still got some time. Would you like to go back? Just for a little bit?"_

_… 'Back'?_

_"You can return to the world of the living, but only for a short time. Settle your scores, revenge yourself..." She cast him a knowing look. "Find peace."_

_It sounded too good to be true. There had to be a catch._

_She shook her head. "No catch, sir. Go on; make your peace with them." She twitched her head upwards ever so slightly; a clear gesture to turn around. "Oh, but before you get going... may I have your name?"_

_He paused, considering it. Turning back, he gave it._

_The girl closed her eyes and leaned back ever so slightly. "_Ahhhh... _of course. Thank you. I won't hold you back any longer." Reopening her eyes, she waved to him almost cheerily. "Well, see you shortly!"_

_Nodding, he turned around one last time. The air rippled like smooth water, shifting and folding before settling once more. Slowly, she lowered her arm and smiled yet again. Unlike the others, this one was almost... forced, a well-hidden pain just beneath it. Her lips parted as she whispered one last word._

_"… Karin."_

_And then she was gone, swept away like a leaf on the wind._

**– TOUHOU –**

_Clank._

Yumemi rolled the cannon aside, running to Julian and pulling him back onto his feet. "Are you alright?"

"As fine as I think I'll ever be..." was his pained response. "Where'd the cannon come from?"

The professor pointed to the ruined husk of Lazarus' Missachtung, still laying there below them.

"… Right." Julian rubbed the back of his neck – and gave a start as a thought occurred to him. "Wait a second, where's Lewis?" He looked around frantically for a moment until he finally saw the soldier's arm, the rest of him concealed by rubble. He turned briefly to Yumemi. "Come on."

Lewis was in terrible condition. At least half of his face and most of his upper torso had been horribly scorched by the blast, burnt skin still uncomfortably hot to the touch. There was a steadily growing stain of blood across his chest. He forced open his good eye as they approached, seemingly unaware of his condition. "Julian...? Is that you?"

"We're here," he said as he knelt beside the downed soldier. "We're here now."

Lewis coughed, though coughing might have been a bad word for it. There was a low wheezing beneath the cough, a tiny river of blood running from the corner of his mouth. "Lazarus?"

They turned, the doctor's corpse splayed out across the floor. Gone were the flowing robes and serene expression. Gone was the green aura and the air of power. This was Lazarus; no more, no less. Yumemi whispered, "Dead."

"Good to hear..." A quiet rasp as Lewis slowly raised his arm, as if beckoning Julian closer. "I really... fucked up, didn't I?"

"That's not how I'd put it," said Julian, "but... I'm not going to lie, either."

"Don't mince words," breathed Lewis. He tensed, a surge of pain wracking his body. "Who would've thought... this was how I died?" Before either of them could speak, he laughed, a quiet yet genuine chuckle. "I don't... Help me up..."

Julian looked up, a silent question in his eyes. Yumemi shook her head. "There's poison in his system. Even if he wasn't in the line of fire, he'd be dead by tomorrow morning."

"I know that." Even at death's door, he still had a bit of fire in him. "But I'm... I'm not gonna lay down and accept it. Seventy years of freedom... that I didn't deserve, but I'll still... fight to the end." He locked eyes with them. "Help me up."

After exchanging glances, they stooped down to lift him over their shoulders. Lewis let out a gasp of pain as they slowly, laboriously hauled him to his feet. "Sorry!" grunted Julian as he struggled to haul the soldier upright. The bloodstain was already spreading again, and much faster than before.

"Don't care... just–"

_Whump._

"Gah!" Julian fell back as Lewis was abruptly pulled from his grasp by some bizarre force. "Lewis! Are you...?" His question rapidly trailed off as he saw what had happened.

The soldier's eyes were wide in shock. Slowly, so very slowly, he raised a hand to his chest. When he brought it away, it was slick with blood. "What...?"

Impaled.

Yumemi groaned as she rolled over, clutching her head as the world resolved itself around her – only to cry out as her head abruptly met the ground again. Lazarus towered over her, the doctor's body little more than a mechanized husk.

"Lazarus!" Julian couldn't believe his eyes. "How are you still–?"

"It takes more than that to kill a Harbinger," seethed Lazarus.

Lewis drew in a shaky breath as he tried to turn around. As he did, the Harbinger swept her arm out, a sheen of metal following her movement. With a powerful screech of metal giving way to metal, the steel column shredded through Lewis' wrist like wet paper, transfixing him to the wall. Her toss was so strong, it had snapped the column in his back, the pieces of it falling away into the abyss.

The soldier hacked and coughed, blood on his lips. He tried to bring his other hand up to free his pinned arm, only for Lazarus to move again. Ripping a steel column from the walls, she flung that at him as well, both wrists irreversibly pinned to the wall. He raised his head, one eye shut by his own drying blood. The mad doctor cracked her knuckles as she walked towards him, her mangled visage promising a slow, painful death.

Julian stumbled to his feet, throwing himself at her. She barely turned around, meeting his wide punch with a solid block. Both of them staggered away as Lazarus' field crackled, green energy sparking as she backed away.

"You will never... get in our way again!" In one last burst of strength, Lazarus raised her arm, drawing it level with his chest, and struck.

The agent watched in horror as her fist met Lewis' rib cage – and _kept _going, through his body and even into the wall, finally stopping as she came up to her elbow. Lewis drew in a sharp breath – or tried to. His lungs, smashed to ruin by Lazarus' final, fatal strike, could no longer draw air as he looked her in the eye, shaking and shuddering.

Her eyes narrowed in cold hate. **_"Die."_**

And in one fluid motion, Lazarus ripped free of him, blood flowing freely as the plug was removed. Lewis looked straight at Julian, their eyes meeting. He tried to whisper something, but no sound came out. The flow of blood quickly faded to a mere trickle as he fell limp, still held in place like a gruesome mockery of crucifixion.

Lazarus slowly turned, blood dripping from her arms as she faced them. She'd fallen silent, but her eyes made her message clear; _You're next._

_A bloodied, black series of wires in his hands, winding about and branching out like a tree's roots–_

_An ivory scythe spinning in one hand, crimson hellfire bursting to life along its circumference–_

_A lone vial, falling to the floor and smashing apart, taking decades of research with it–_

Julian didn't know what was driving him. Perhaps it was grief over Lewis' death, some misplaced belief that he could be saved. Maybe it was anger and desperation, knowing she was about to take his life. It might have been an unknown being, whispering in his ear and guiding him down this path. Or it could have been some sort of deep instinctual reaction, a rush of primal fear of his own death urging him onwards. Then again, it could have been a little bit of everything.

Time seemed to slow down as she struck. Julian noticed an odd red light coming from beside him, lighting her features. Turning to the side, he saw some sort of tiny metal ball emitting the light. "YUMEOKAZ" was etched into it in a constant circle around it.

He felt as if he could see every single detail as reality all but ground to a halt around him. He could see the pulse bullet slowly spinning as it continued on its course past him. He could see the slow, mesmerizing ripple of each drop of blood as it hit the ground. He could even see the pulse of Lazarus' heart, a slowly moving machine expanding and contracting.

_What in the world...?_

The agent began to take a step to the side–

_Boom!_

The pulse bullet found its mark as Julian leapt aside, Lazarus' outstretched claws brushing his cheek ever so slightly. The mad doctor fell back as it scalded what remained of her skin.

Yumemi couldn't believe her eyes. Lazarus had moved at a speed far surpassing anything any human should be capable of reacting to; she'd only hit her because she was already pulling the trigger when she jumped. Then how had Julian managed to dodge her?

"Impossible," snarled Lazarus. Evidently, she had similar thoughts. "You can't... that's impossible...my powers are not yours _TO CONTROL!_"

Something clicked in Julian's mind. Ehud had once effortlessly disarmed Yumemi in an almost literal blink of an eye and could dodge so many strikes sent his way – and this was how he did it! Lazarus was moving again, her claws curled into a fist, flying with more than enough force to likely smash through his rib cage like she'd done to Lewis. His pupils dilated as he moved–

It happened in slow motion to him. Once more, time seemed to stretch as Julian countered, no longer surprised by the effect as he brought his arm across his chest, catching Lazarus' wrist and redirecting it, her spread claws grazing a shallow cut across his side. Twisting downwards, he locked her arm into place and, in one fluid motion, launched her off the small platform.

His heart racing, Julian watched as time accelerated. Lazarus recovered quickly, grabbing a colossal cog as she fell past it, jamming it out of its socket with her momentum. She unhinged her jaw and screeched; not just a yell, but with a horrible dissonant clash of metal grinding against metal. As Julian and Yumemi flinched, drawing away from the wretched noise, she leapt upwards, vaulting back onto the platform and rushing forwards in the blink of an eye. For one split second, Julian saw the trailing black line behind her – and the charged, sparking split end.

Both hit the ground as Lazarus swung the wire like a whip, a shower of sparks falling as it snapped over their heads. Julian, however, was a second too slow. The whip struck him clean across the face and discharged directly into the fresh wound on his cheek.

"Julian!" Yumemi made for him, but had to jump back as the black wire lashed again, blocking her from him as he collapsed.

Lazarus pulled back on it, spinning it in a slow circle as she stepped over his body towards her. "Yumemi... this man is the final proof."

"What are you talking about?" She stepped forward, the sparking end landing behind her. The black wire bit at her skin, but she still managed to grab the whip and reel it in.

The mad doctor laughed as she pulled against her, locking them into a stalemate. She slammed her foot against the floor, the already weakening catwalk giving way as a rift opened between them, gaping darkness yawning beneath. "You think you can call me out? What about you? In your haste to save _him-_" She tugged savagely. Yumemi stumbled, but didn't fall. "-you did _exactly_ what you betrayed me for!"

"That was different!" Yumemi found her footing, matching Lazarus. "I used it to try and keep him alive. You used it to create monsters – _you still are!"_

"And what do you call him, then?" Lazarus spat. "My brothers are just the same as he, I wonder what you'll call him when he comes to?"

The professor's grip slackened. "What?"

"He's not _dead!"_ A shrill, hysterical laugh. "Something as small as that can't kill him! This is the decisive proof; he's no different from us! Any human would be instantly killed by that much voltage, but in case you haven't noticed... he..."

Yumemi felt the wire slipping between her fingers.

"-is not..."

Lazarus finally wrenched it free of her grip, swinging it back up and around.

_"-HUMAN!"_

**– TOUHOU –**

_BOOM!_

Darius skidded heavily, sword dug into the ground as he forced his body to a halt, three uniform trenches in the soft dirt and a colossal crater marking the moment.

"…"

"Okay, I'll be completely honest." Marisa tossed her mini-hakkero into the air, casually catching it on the way down. "You are really creeping me out right now with that 'no talking' thing."

"…"

He didn't dignify her with a response, instead turning his head as if seeing something only he could see. For the briefest moment, his eyes narrowed – and he swept off his coat once more, melting into the shadows and ripping past Marisa.

"Wha – hey! Get back here!"

The gunslinger didn't listen, the shadow only speeding up in response. He had found it, he had found the dream dimension! But unless he shook off these pesky chasers, he'd never get around to what he had to do...

The shadow slid out of the rainforest they were fighting in – and promptly faded to nothingness as it crossed over out of one dimension and into another. With a heavy thump, Darius hit the ground rolling. Thick shadows still trailed his figure, condensing into his longcoat as he came up standing. He looked around, taking in the new surroundings.

His dream dimension... right? The glowing pale sea, the black mists above, it _should_ have been the right place. However, it felt and looked different. The mist seemed to condense in some places, forming ghostly stalactites spiralling into the waters below. Wherever they met, the water went dark, inky black oil slowly spreading from each point of contact. Similarly, parts of the ocean seemed to... solidify, falling _upwards_ and somehow remaining supported by the mist that had no right supporting it. In the chunks torn out below them, there was only more darkness, though it seemed different from the thick fog above. More unsettling, more empty...

At least one thing seemed unchanged... mostly. Alexa's control center, a towering steel monolith. It appeared the lights were off. Darius went there, sheathing the claymore and summoning a ball of white fire in his hand to light his surroundings.

"...?"

He threw open the doors. They slammed off the inner walls with an echoing bang as he strode down the catwalk. Far below – farther than seemed conventionally possible – the white sea churned as if coming to a boil. _That,_ at the very least, hadn't changed.

In the dead center of the control room, Darius turned on the spot slowly. Six tables, various equipment strewn across them. The main keyboard opposite the catwalk had powered off, an abandoned headset lying next to it. He ran his hand across the keyboard, noting the dust under his fingers. It came to life, a blue-green light glowing softly from beneath and illuminating the keys.

"Wow. What kinda place is this, da ze...?" Marisa's faint voice echoed over to him from a distance.

He seated himself in the empty rolling chair in front of the keyboard. Right on cue, the screen lit up, line after line of jumbled code scrolling down it.

Three windows sprung up on the screen. Each one displaying a face, several lines of their information writing themselves into being below. Alexa; Damion; Darius. Alexa's window went blank almost immediately, closing on its own. The two remaining files were corrupted somehow, half of it indecipherable, the rest of it barely eligible. One intact line stood out to him, however.

_Abilities neutralized during attempted fusion of power, Void activated as "base" ability._

"...!"

Several clicks later, one last window popped up, a colossal green grid that dominated the screen. Four dots blinked on it, one of them moving back and forth.

_A map..._

He tapped one last key. A mechanism under the keyboard whirred quietly. A hidden slot opened up, an otherworldly green glow about it. He reached over to it, finding what at first glance appeared to be some sort of translucent green crystal. But on closer inspection, he could see the golden lines tracing back and forth, inside and outside of it. This was one way of doing it, it seemed.

But why did it look so... familiar?

The gunslinger had what he needed. The screen closed down, the control center powering down around him once more as he stuffed the odd thing into his pocket. Then, he left the center, treading towards the nearest rip in the ocean. A glance up, where he saw the ocean ripped out above him.

"There you are!"

He whipped around, the black-edged sword in his hands once more as he came face to face with Marisa once more.

She levelled the mini-hakkero at him once more and declared, _"Master Spark~!"_

Darius narrowed his eyes – and jumped backwards, into the void below.


	18. First Revelation

**Aaand we're back! Sorry for the delay, though it wasn't quite as long as the one before... I think. I've been in a bit of a roleplaying mood as of late, and just couldn't pick up the story for a little bit. Trust me, I got more than a few sleepless nights wondering when I'd continue. So I got out of bed, at one in the morning, multiple times, and wrote.**

**Why one in the morning? I dunno, I seem to write better when tired, hungry and generally pissed. Just not _too_ tired, hungry and generally pissed, but just enough to touch up my work. I think there's a scientific study that says being slightly tired helps productivity, but...**

**Ziden115: Questions start being answered right about now. We're actually a little under halfway done the story! Already! Surprise! Wow!**

**BCM: Yes, we're back! More than a little tired, I kinda hate everything right now, Muse is probably trying to drown himself in the bathtub, but we're back! (He's not actually doing that****. I hope.)**

**Tez7: All fun and games until you remember you have a perfectly good story on the sidelines. If this one falls under, I'd probably curl up into a little ball and cry for hours.**

**Oh, yeah, Metal Gear has been doing things to my time as well. Have "I'm My Own Master Now" from _Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance!_**

**(That name, though)**

**– TOUHOU –**

Lazarus blinked. She tugged experimentally at her whip once, twice. Nothing.

Yumemi lowered her arm. Around it, the red sheen shut off as she took a closer look at what happened.

Julian stood on shaky feet, but his was a death grip as he tightened his fingers around the end of the wire. It sparked between his fingers, but he showed no response. "Heh... it all... makes sense now."

"Hmph." Lazarus tried tugging at it again. "So you were listening?"

"No... but I could see things. Understand them... my powers..." His eyes sharpened. "If there's one thing I saw... it was that your time is now."

The Harbinger merely smiled, saying nothing.

He raised one hand, clenching it into a fist. On his back, the long-aching fractal figure had finally settled, calming as if anticipating what was about to happen. A soft blue glow formed around his hand as he relaxed it. "We are _the_ Harbingers, aren't we?"

"We are," murmured Lazarus.

"Our powers are as one."

She nodded.

"We grow stronger... draw power from one another."

"Correct."

"We belong to eternity..."

This time, she shook her head. "We _are _eternity."

It was as if a spell had suddenly broken in that instant. Yumemi raised her hand, crimson light glowing to life as Lazarus dropped the whip, crouching into a combat stance. But Julian outstripped both of them. With the same preternatural speed they had seen in Ehud, he rushed forward, crashing headlong into Lazarus. The two of them tumbled, his momentum sending them both rolling as they wrestled for dominance.

Lazarus pushed him aside and rolled backwards onto her feet, breathing heavily. "What did you see? _What did you see?"_

Julian matched her movements perfectly, coming up at the exact same time. "Everything you have, Josef."

Her face slackened for a moment – but just one brief glimpse in time. Then she smiled and kicked off, clashing once more. "That's what I was waiting for!"

Julian felt corners of his mind opening up to him, battle instincts roaring to life. Skills he'd never used before, abilities he'd never even known existed...

Both hands snapped up, first blocking and grabbing her first punch, then the second one. Lazarus kicked out, only for Julian to pivot on one heel, stamping down on her foot and immobilizing it. Switching his grip to her shoulders, he swung his own head forward to collide with hers in a sound headbutt.

She stumbled – and recovered, far faster than he expected. Lazarus leapt forward, throwing herself into him and shoving them off the catwalk, deeper into the malfunctioning factory. They landed heavily farther within, the Harbinger scrambling to her feet. Julian leapt up and stumbled, rapidly regaining his footing. As one, they looked up.

They were at the very core of the factory. The floor was on a slight angle, like a cone angling downwards into a colossal hatch. However, there didn't seem to be a means of opening it...

If nothing else, the massive lightning figure scratched over its surface gave a very good indication of what was inside.

They looked back up, a grim determination both their faces.

Lazarus barely brought up her hands in time as Julian struck. The sheer force of that one strike sent shockwaves rippling up her arms, but she still tightened her grip. She spun around, lifting him clean off his feet before throwing him. He hit the ground, rolling over and back onto his feet. Not wasting a moment, he finally drew out another latent skill, one that almost seemed to be begging him to use it.

The Harbinger leaned back, shock evident on her face as an ethereal blade lanced out just over her. "So you've finally figured it out."

Julian's hand was extended in front of him palm-first, a spectral blue glow around it. A translucent blue blade followed his movements as he drew back, almost following his thoughts rather than his movements.

Movement-

He reacted instinctively, grabbing Lazarus' arm and redirecting it to the side. However, this time he held on and moved after her, the ghostly sword swinging around. They came to a halt with a heavy thump. Julian let out a breath, the spectral sword hovering just over her throat.

"Although we can emulate each other's abilities, every Harbinger still has a skill that is only at its strongest in their hands," breathed Lazarus. "Well done, Julian. Well done..."

The tip of his blade was shaking. "What's the matter? Too afraid to take a life?" Lazarus laughed hoarsely, a mad spark in her eye. "Well... what if it was mine... or _YOURS-"_

She moved to seize his wrist.

She never got there.

Julian's eyes were wide as he slowly withdrew the sword. It seemed to pass through cleanly – not a single drop of blood on it. It dispersed into a mist that rapidly faded as his breathing began to slow down. He shook his head slowly as he continued staring at her. A puddle of blood formed beneath them, slowly expanding ever outwards.

When Yumemi finally made her way to the core, that was exactly the same way she found them.

**– TOUHOU –**

Reimu watched as the strange werewolf skidded to a halt. Slung over his back was another man, thoroughly soaked from the rain. The motorcycle's roar died down to a quiet grumble as he got off. She said, "I'll be honest, I thought the last Hakurei miko chased you out for good."

"She did," said Clarence in a clipped tone. "Then again, you're not her, are you?"

She chewed on her tongue for a long time. "... Fine. Raise a ruckus, and you're right out again, though. I don't have time for your antics right now."

"That's a done deal." Stooping down, he shrugged the unconscious man off his shoulders. Clarence's companion was inexplicably half-naked, with exactly two articles of clothing; an immodest loincloth and his glasses. "I'm just here because I found this... _person..._ on my way to Youkai Mountain."

"That hair..." The unconscious man's hair was a shock of pure white. "Rinnosuke-san?"

"His body temperature's well below the norm... hypothermia. He'd have likely caught his death out there... probably still will if you don't warm him up."

Reimu took a step back, sliding a talisman between her fingers. "Are you implying-!"

"Is this wartime?" Clarence abruptly cut her off. "I don't remember the Scarlet Devil Mansion being this heavily guarded..." He rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. "Or Yukari's workaround to feel this strange."

"She's been... occupied as of late. Was it only the language border?"

"Pretty much, yeah. I'd say I have... two, three months on it? Whatever. Who's the enemy in this war?"

"Eientei... I think."

"And I can smell your human populace in here... Politics," chuckled the werewolf. "They're much less guarded than I expected. Even talked to Kagerou for a bit on my way here. They are not taking this seriously _at all._ Well, the moon princess isn-"

The miko glared at him for a moment. "Don't you have places to be going?"

"Right, right..." Starting up the sodden machine, Clarence shot a glance back at her. "But in all seriousness... you wouldn't happen to have seen any fire dragons around here, have you?"

"... No. I haven't."

"Hmm... Even so, heads up. I'm not one of them, but odds are you'll be seeing a lot more outsiders besides me soon."

Reimu watched him drive off from under her umbrella. Looking down, she noticed Rinnosuke was still being rained on. With a sigh, she reluctantly hauled the much taller man over her shoulders. "What am I going to do with you...?"

**– TOUHOU –**

Yukari snapped her folding fan shut, a smile on her face. "Well done. You're coming along in leaps and bounds, Maribel."

The girl in question nodded somewhat tiredly. "Thank you, Yukari."

"Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Renko must be worried, I'm sure."

"Oh, Renko! I forgot..." Turning on the spot, Maribel ran out the door, nearly tripping herself before making the sharp turn back down the hallway. "Reee~nko!"

The gap youkai laughed quietly. "Well, she's lively, to say the least. Her powers have been developing very quickly..."

Ran nodded absentmindedly as she set down a tea tray at the table. The two of them sat down, each facing the other. "Yukari-sama... what's troubling you?"

Yukari tilted her head at first, feigning ignorance. But when Ran simply continued to wait in silence for her answer, she just sighed. "It's been a disaster lately, Ran. I tried to bring in another variant I didn't feel was developing fast enough, but that was likely the last course of action I should have taken." Shaking her head, she took a small sip of tea. "... That Scarlet Devil never does have any sweet tea. Then again, considering her idea of a good spice is blood... well, that's not important."

A silence fell between the both of them. Ran drank and even refilled her cup in the time it took for her master to speak again.

"It was a mistake on my part," Yukari murmured. She hadn't touched her tea once since the first taste... "Bringing in one was already a risky move. Maribel was lucky, very lucky – I was too predisposed with other matters to worry much about her. She learned of us, of herself, slowly, gradually. A jigsaw puzzle, one that forms a picture she may not enjoy, but also one with the pieces withheld.

"I... did not do the same for Karin. Rather than letting her piece things together, one step at a time, I gave everything to her at once. I handed her all the pieces, and what she built was... unexpected, to say the least. She lost her mind, due to one simple oversight I had made – the frailty of sanity. It took me countless generations to stand where I am now, and I expected her to do the same in far, far less time."

The kitsune remained silent – there were times when silence was mandatory, and this was one of them.

"The great youkai sage, so venerable and mighty, master of all existence, a woman who effortlessly defines the hidden gears of the universe... but struggles to define herself. Ironic, don't you think? It is thanks to my hubris that my Gensokyo, my land of illusion, was nearly crushed by its own weight. What an ignoble fate that would have been."

Yukari leaned back in her chair, staring at something beyond the ceiling. "Was I pushing her too far? Did I not give her the time she needed to grow? Was she strong enough to see, to understand, if only I had given her more time? Ah, how shortsighted I was... I still am. How far can I guide Maribel, hold her hand as she explores the darkness? How long till I must let go, watch her fall and get back up?"

There was a rare tiredness in the ever-energetic Yukari's eyes, a dulling of the senses after an eternity of life. "I've done everything I can for her. I guided her, gave her weapons, taught her skills, shielded her mind... but now, we'll have to take that all away. She... no, _I... _have to set straight what went so horribly awry, thanks to my meddling hand."

She got up, striding to the window. She stared at her reflection in the glass for a moment. It looked so ethereal, so fragile, as if a single breath of wind would remove that translucent image on the other side of the glass...

"I've determined where he'll appear next." All the doubt was gone now, replaced with steadfast resolution. "Tell Renko, Merry, that it's time to put their skills to the test."

Ran moved to her side, instead looking at the spread of humans wandering in the walls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. "Yukari-sama?"

"Remember, Ran? The incident that started it all... Castle in the Sky." Her eyes darkened to a brilliant shade of deep violet. "We move to strike. He will reappear at the ruins of the castle, and when he does, we'll be waiting."

"And... the newest outsiders?"

"We leave them to their own devices. Our dear masked friend has already sewn the seeds of her defeat for us... and they've already begun blooming. We need not interfere in that regard. Instead, we'll take Darius Loyhrs back to the place where it all began... the true start of his journey, and the beginning of her end..."

**– TOUHOU –**

Goukei watched Yumemi reach Julian, far below him at the very bottom of the factory. A purple orb of light shone in his fingers as he raised it, examining it. "What's the matter, Lewis? Beyond hearing already?"

The orb did not respond.

"... You're a fool. A self-deluded, megalomaniacal half-rotted mass of flesh long past its expiration date. I could never really bother to free up my schedule for you, but I finally got some free time just for you. You can hear me. I know you can..."

Clenching his fingers into a fist, the light vanished between his fingers even after he opened his hand. Goukei got up, nodding to Ehud. "Salvage what you can. Mainly, search for Lazarus' animation files."

"You plan to revive him?"

"Well, I don't see why not." A wicked smile broke out on his face. "We don't need his mind _all_ there, just most of it. After all, with Lazarus gone, we now have a vacancy, don't we? It'll take a bit of time and a fair bit of resources, but we can make it work. I'm positive you're very well-acquainted with handling a moving corpse, right? After all, heheh..."

The assassin didn't so much as hint at a smile.

"Geez, you're all a bunch of stone walls... you're gonna get _me_ down soon, you know? It's infectious..."

**– TOUHOU –**

"Get up... we have to go."

"I get it..."

"Julian? Are you alright?"

"Eveything makes so much sense... _too_ much..."

"Come on, arm around my shoulders. We don't need questioning from the others right now."

"Lazarus, she's right there... we shouldn't leave her... and Lewis... they-"

"They're _dead._ There's nothing we can do for them. Don't risk your life over the loss of theirs!"

"Yumemi, the... Four Harbingers... Revelations..."

_Is he delirious? He must be – either that or shellshock._

"They can't die... not normally... it takes one to kill one... but they work as one. They would never... kill each other... but I would. I'm outside of the system, but also inside of it..."

"It's a ladder. Can you climb?"

"This is important... you have to listen... please, Yumemi."

"..."

"Ehud... prototype model. Nigh-impossible to damage... can't even die. Magic and science... together... can't be hurt... only another of our kind can..."

_Whump._

"Julian! Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine... but Darius... he..."

"He's one of them, isn't he?"

"He can't be stopped... by any other... more important than ever... have to reach him before..."

"Before he does even more damage. I know. But this means nothing if you rot away in here! Keep going..."

"Mist... it's the Mist..."

"... What?"

"It's our power... an ambient force that... they can use... protects him from damage... but when two controllers of it fight... cancelling out..."

"What are you talking about?"

"It binds us... to one another... a medium, along which all experience echoes..."

"... It's a storm outside. We'll wait it out, after all..."

**– TOUHOU –**

"Yumemi?"

"Yes?"

"What's it like? In the future..."

"Heh. It's not that different from the pas – from today. Kids go to school, get in trouble, teens experiment, get in trouble, adults work, get in trouble... education is much more streamlined. Transportation is in the blink of an eye. Everyone can meet everyone. Any type of food, just a hop, skip and a leap away."

"..."

"But there are problems. Society is so reliant on technology... but nature still has its way with it every once in a while. When that happens for too long, people don't always know how to cope. Everyone thinks the... future is a utopia, but it's a mix – just like today. Not everyone can afford what the world has to offer. War remains – humanity never can get enough of it. More technology? More ways to kill... but at the same time, some of it's used for saving lives instead of ruining them. Despite that, people go about their lives, trapped in their own little bubble. Walking _beside_ each other, but never _with _each other. It's... sad, sometimes. We've made advancements in science, become so much more than we were even fifty years ago, but if you really look closely... humans never really change. From my time, to yours, to the Dark Ages, to the time of Christ to even the Ancient Greeks..."

"I see..."

"That's why I went back – well, one reason among many. To see if things were different. Many of my daily appliances weren't available. Things took time and patience, but I got used to that perfectly fine. Got sick once or twice from eating food not normally in my palate, but I survived. After staying here for a bit, I arrived to my conclusion; technology marches on, but humanity seems happy where it is. Not much to be said about it, but..."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. You know, I almost feel like I'm telling a bedtime story. Hahaha..."

**– TOUHOU –**

**(Roleplaying shenanigans can be found on this site's Touhou forums, specifically Let's Danmaku)**


	19. What Is Power?

**... It's been a while.**

**BCM: Thanks for the kind words. I hope the plot isn't getting too messy...**

**Tez: I'm starting to think the current protagonist might not actually be the protagonist.**

**1234abcdcba4321: It gets messy, I know. It's definitely not for everyone, that's fine.**

**– TOUHOU –**

Darius stopped tugging at the chain at his waist. He could have sworn he'd just heard something. What was it? He perked up slightly – it was mind-numbingly boring here, after all... No. Of course not. It was just his imagination again, making him hear things that weren't really-

_Whump._

He flinched as something fell from above, seemingly out of nothingness. He went to take a closer look at who it was.

It was him.

"Who are-?"

The body double got to his feet, looking him dead in the eye. The movement, the posture, the expression – it was almost as if he was looking in a mirror, if it weren't for the bizarre sword in his grip. It almost looked like the Sword of Solace, but not quite...

"Are you... Damion?"

It shook its head.

"Are you _me_?"

It shook its head again.

"Then what are you?"

No response...

"... Mute, I guess." Darius got up, chains rattling around him again. "Are you here to help me?"

It made a face, like it was trying to decide, then made a wavering motion with its hand. _Kind of._

"What do you plan to do?"

The body double raised its arm, light flashing around them. One after another, countless moving images formed, hovering in the air and overlapping each other as they rapidly filled the air.

Darius looked around as they materialized back to back. Some of those scenes looked familiar... "Are these my memories?"

Another _kind of _gesture.

"Damion's, too?"

_Kind of._

Darius held up a finger, trying to figure something out. "Alright. Raise one finger if we're in my consciousness, raise two if this is my subconscious."

Two fingers.

At a closer look, he only vaguely recalled a lot of the scenes around him. "Suppressed memories, then... or are they his memories?"

The body double hesitated, then extended both hands, palms facing upwards. Then it brought them together.

"Both."

It nodded.

He was able to guess a lot of its gestures really well... but then again, they were the exact same gestures he'd probably make to get the same points across.

"Damion's memories, huh?" he said aloud as he turned on the spot. He felt the body double's presence behind him, also soaking up the information held here. "So what are you really?"

It tapped his shoulder. When he turned around, it also turned, showing off the sigil on the back of its coat – a yin-yang symbol. When did that get there?

"You're... power? My power?"

It nodded, a bit of relief now visible on its face.

"... That makes no sense at all."

A shrug.

One of the scenes floated by them. It was pretty sizable, probably a little bigger than a large television screen. The body double extended its arm towards it, but didn't touch it. It nodded to Darius.

"You... you want me to touch it?"

It nodded again.

"Well, if you say so..." It was just a memory, after all. But the scene didn't seem to be anything he was remotely familiar with... Damion's memories, most likely. Darius reached out, fingers brushing its surface – and sinking in, a feeling like pins and needles surrounding his fingertips...

**– TOUHOU –**

Damion Loyhrs raised one hand, feeling a light drizzle against his upraised palm. That was alright – he enjoyed the rain.

"Loyhrs."

He turned, seeing a man in a sharp white suit – much like his own pale longcoat. "... And you are?"

"Mathias Gaius." He made a small bow.

Damion sneered. "_You're _my hunting partner?"

"I am."

"In a suit."

"Yes."

"On the battlefield."

"I see you are wearing a trench coat."

"_Armoured._"

Mathias gave him a look. "Are you sure about that?" Then, in a flurry of movement, he drew a silver dagger and rushed at him.

The hunter reacted instantly, drawing his coat out before him. The dagger went in, deeper, deeper... and stopped. For all his strength, Mathias _could not _cut it!

"Like it?" Damion gave him a light push. "The finest dragonhide, personally skinned off a kill."

Mathias looked at the rip in the coat. Beneath the cloth, there was an odd green-tinged material, almost like leather. "... You are quite fast, even under that heavy coat."

"Well, you've seen why I carry it. Care to explain yourself?" He waved to his suit.

"A true master needs no armour, for he can avoid the deadliest of blows."

"Oh, sure, a 'master' can, but do you fall under that category?"

His eyes glittered as he tugged at his lapels. "We've dawdled long enough. Shall we continue?"

Today's target? A fire dragon.

A _fully grown_ fire dragon.

"Its fire can melt steel in an instant." Mathias snapped his fingers at Damion. "Pack." As the hunter handed him the requested bag of materials, he continued. "Eyewitness records confirm it can sustain a fire for at least five full minutes without drawing breath or pausing. Rope. Its claws are sharp enough to open a man's gut as easily as it would a wet paper. One flap of its wings can bowl over a man or even knock down small houses. Am I scaring you yet?"

"You're forgetting which of us is the professional here." Damion raised an eyebrow as he watched Mathias lay out several large boxes. "What's in the box?"

Mathias nodded to the colossal cave entrance before them. A steady stream of smoke was trailing out of it and into the sky. "I plan to draw out the beast with an... offering, so to speak. Have you ever encountered adult dragons before?"

"Are you kidding me? Course I have."

"... Have you ever killed one?"

Now _that_ was something even he couldn't attest to.

"Me neither, but it's time to put theory to practice." Mathias kicked off the top of all four boxes. "Hide. Now!"

He didn't need any further prompting. Damion had barely taken cover behind a tree than the dragon come out of its hiding place, a hellish screech leaving its maw as it swept its head back and forth, searching for them.

Terrified, he crept around the side of the tree to watch. He could see its nostrils expanding, trying to sniff them out. It looked directly at him–

He ducked back into cover. He could hear its heavy breathing just on the other side as it leaned closer. It reeked of sulphur, another hot gust hitting him.

_Take the bait, damn you..._

It reared up, turning back to the four boxes. Inside each one was a well-done lamb, the scent filling the clearing. Folding its front legs, the fire dragon sniffed each box in turn.

Damion burst out of the undergrowth, already swinging back the claymore as he approached. The dragon reacted immediately, throwing its head back. He could already catch the first scent of fire as he dug in with his heels, pushing off to the side.

A terrifiyng inferno rolled past him, turning everything in its path to dust. The hunter ran further still, away from the blistering heat. The air settled, kicked into a frenzy by the sheer heat – to reveal a gargantuan set of claws bearing down on him.

He ground to a halt, turning to the side as two claws smashed into the ground on either side of him. With a roar, he brought the claymore around, slamming the weapon against its thick hide.

Nothing. The blade ran harmlessly over the durable scales, barely leaving a scratch over its surface.

"Argh!" Damion was batted away as the dragon lowered its head, slamming into him and sending him tumbling back the way he came. Flipping himself back onto his feet, he readied the claymore again. "Damn! Never seen one this tough..."

That said, he grabbed a fistful of his own coat, bringing it around him as he spun. "But let's see you deal with this!"

A burst of light – and he was gone, a barely visible silhouette sprinting across the earth.

The dragon looked back and forth in confusion. Its nostrils expanded as it gradually locked onto him. With a disdainful growl, it turned on the spot, bringing its tail around in a sweeping strike.

With a sound like shattering glass, Damion was blasted out of his cloaking ability, slamming heavily against a tree. The coat couldn't be cut, but that didn't help against sheer force!

Damion snatched up his sword from the ground, slowly levelling it as he got to his feet. The fire dragon approached him, smoke hissing from its jaw as it loomed over him.

A gleam of silver, a barely audible whistle–

It stumbled away, shrieking as it snapped its head back and forth. Damion blinked as it continued roaring, launching flames blindly into the sky.

"Are you alright?" Mathias stepped out beside Damion, a silver knife between his fingers.

"Took you long enough to show up," he snapped.

A small chuckle. "May I?"

The hunter nodded, offering up the claymore. "All yours – not like I can do much."

The dragon lowered its head. Dark green blood – _ichor _– trickled from its eyes as it shut them. It sniffed the air again, turning to them yet again. With a sudden roar, it tore at the ground, rushing them down at fast as it could.

Mathias stepped forward, confidently tossing a knife into the air with one hand. In the other, he slowly spun the sword in a wide circle.

The fire dragon opened its mouth, a yellow spark flickering to life in those depths–

He suddenly jabbed the sword into the ground and reached into his suit with both hands, drawing out ten knives and tossing them at full speed. One by one, they stitched a line up through the sensitive tissue within its mouth.

Just like that, the dragon broke off its attack. Snapping its mouth shut time and again, a bloody mess forming as it prepared to crush him flat.

_Wait for it..._

Grabbing the sword and pushing off, Mathias leapt to the side as the claws came down, a plume of dirt exploding upwards with the sheer force. Barely fazed, he kicked off again, this time landing on the front leg before it could withdraw it. Moving as quickly as he could, he jumped, finding a foothold amongst the rough scales and climbing. Rolling onto its back, he let out a sudden yelp as it reared. On either side of him, its wings extended and pushed off, launching them into the air.

Mathias got up slowly, maintaining his balance as he leapt to the dragon's wing. Drawing a knife, he began crawling over the thick bone towards the far end of the wing.

Without warning, it flipped over in mid-air. With no other option, he snapped his knife hand upwards, puncturing the soft wing membrane with little resistance. A high-pitched whine sounded off as air passed through the rip, another roar punishing his ears as it rolled back over.

Pulling the knife free, he instead made a fresh hole near the edge of the wing – and pulled back, carving a massive rip into it. The beast pitched, nearly throwing him as he rushed onto its back and kept climbing, this time onto its head. Wind howling, he rolled off of its neck as the dragon aborted its flight, roughly skidding across the ground without proper use of its wings.

Mathias tumbled heavily – something cracked. One of his arms was broken. The dragon was getting up, still supremely pissed that its latest meal was putting up a fight. It went in for the kill, jaws unhunging as it lunged for him.

_S-shit...!_

Nothing else to do!

Mathias snatched up the claymore from the ground, instinctively swinging it forward as the dragon met him. The blade pierced the inside of its mouth – and kept going, spearing deep into the brain. He warily opened one eye. He was standing _inside _of the dragon's jaw, dark green blood soaking him, a cavern of fangs and putrid sulphur.

Tearing the blade free, he lifted its jaw with difficulty, stepping out and carelessly letting it flop back down. Now his suit was completely ruined...

"I told you so." Damion finally managed to catch up with him. "But that was one _hell _of a way to kill a dragon." He extended a hand to his bloodied companion. "I think we're gonna get along just fine."

"My arm's broken," Mathias pointed out.

"Oh. Well, you still get what I mean." He switched hands.

This time, Mathias accepted.

**– TOUHOU –**

"... Julian? Are you feeling any better?"

The agent blew out a breath, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Yeah. Still a headache, though."

Yumemi adjusted herself, sitting opposite to him just outside the lab. "Could I ask you a few questions?"

"I don't see why not."

"What did you mean earlier, by 'Mist'?"

"I..." Julian frowned, pressing a hand to his temple. "Sorry, it's all... I remember things that aren't my recollections. I have to dig around, but... it's just the simplest way I can explain it. I call it a Mist, but it's something a little different. I guess... well, let me go back to the beginning."

She nodded. "Go on."

"Energy. Yes, it's energy. From four billion years past, back when the Earth was new. The energy used in its creation, collecting and condensing into a field around the planet. It fluctuates, changes depending on the location... It's literally the power of creation, and it's everywhere. But mere humans can't make use of it. The body, the mind, the soul simply can't handle that kind of power without instantly falling apart. But it's possible with the right training. I got off lucky – the link between the others and I lets me use it, no worries. Just like... like..."

He raised his arm, a brief blue haze forming around his fingers. It expanded and solidified, a thin longsword now in his grip.

"But is it magic, or science?"

It felt like someone else was talking in his place. "... Both. They're just two different ways of understanding the same thing."

"You had some sort of super reflexes during the fight. What was that?"

"I... it's not reflexes. I think... I think it's time?"

Yumemi just gave him a weird look. He continued, "It's... stretching time around the user? God, this is tough to explain. It's relativity, I suppose."

"That's impossi..." But Julian wasn't the only one capable of these feats. That red assassin... was this how he always moved so blindingly fast? Even so, it clashed with so many things she knew!

Maybe...

Without warning, she threw a pebble at him. It bonked him on the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Sorry! I thought you'd be able to move out of the way! Can you at least show how it works?"

Julian got up, shifting his weight from foot to foot... but didn't start moving. "I..."

"What's going on?"

"I can't! Power grows in proximity to another Harbinger, and we just killed the only one in the area!"

"... You're a complete mess, you know that?"

**– TOUHOU –**

"Someone's coming, what do we do?"

"Act natural, just act natural!"

"Wait, how do I do that?"

"There's not too much of a difference between youkai and human, don't worry about it!"

"..."

"I don't _think. _Anyway, just play along and _relax! _Your shoulders hike up to your ears when you're nervous, Renko."

A youkai passed by them – some girl with dark green hair, a cape and antennae. She looked at Maribel, then at Renko, then back at Maribel.

"Uh..." Maribel put on the best gruff voice she could manage. "Just taking this one here back to Eirin-sama! Nothing to worry about."

"A human?" the youkai asked. "Where'd you find her?"

"Where – oh! Sneaking around the, uh, outskirts of the village!" Maribel waved an arm around at the dilapidated buildings. "She musta been from the vampire mansion."

"So... not an outsider?"

"Ah..." Maribel risked looking at Renko, who shook her head ever so slightly. "No. Just a resident of the village."

The firefly youkai shrugged. "Not my business anyway... Rumia's been getting hungry is all. The rules might have changed, but until they definitely have..." She trailed off, then flew away.

Renko muttered, "That had no business working. How did it work?"

"... Magic?" Maribel suggested as they set off down the path again. "And why didn't you want me to call you an outsider?"

"Outsiders are fair game for being eaten by youkai. That must be what she meant by the rules might have changed – war or something."

"You knew this?"

"You didn't?"

"..."

"We don't have time for this," sighed Renko as she picked up the pace. "C'mon, we have to be at the ruins as soon as possible."

Maribel didn't immediately respond, instead staring into the distance after the youkai. "But why didn't she think I was...?"

_"Merry!"_

She snapped out of it. "Oh, right, right – coming!"

"Look ,we're only going through the village because it's way faster than just walking around all the territory they own right now. The longer we stay here, the more likely someone's gonna notice us!" Renko was beginning to lose her patience, simply grabbing Maribel by the arm and dragging her along. "Come on, we gotta go!"

"Hey, slow down! I'm supposed to be leading you around, prisoner!"

"Well, you're slow!"

"Am not!"

"Then prove it!"

"I will!" Maribel stormed ahead of Renko, nearly dragging her off her feet with the chain by how fast she was walking. A little bit of protesting, however, and she slowed down to a more manageable pace.

Renko sighed, too quietly for Merry to notice. How was she always so... chipper about everything? And her ability... did Merry herself even know about it? If she did, she did a very good job of covering it up – Renko, on the other hand, managed to eavesdrop on Yukari for a bit and overheard what she had to say on Maribel. She didn't understand half of it, but she understood the most important part – to her, at least.

Maribel, somehow, _was _Yukari.

That raised plenty of questions of its own. But all it did was... make Renko a little jealous, to be honest. Merry was better – she always was. Renko wasn't even undercutting herself. She scored higher on tests, made more friends, fought better, everything imaginable. Even their special abilities; Merry could, if Yukari was right, distort dimensions. All of reality was her toy, hers to play with as she pleased. Renko? It wasn't even a special ability, just a bold-faced lie. Anyone with half a brain could do it.

Her hands curled into fists, then relaxed. Why was she angry at Merry? Maybe not Merry. Maybe herself. Angry for being inferior in every way, probably. There had to be something to her – she and Merry were equals, right? She would find something she was truly capable of, something truly unique to her, right?

Right?

"...ko. Hey, Renko!"

She snapped out of her thoughts. "M-Merry?"

"What's up? You've gone pale again," said Maribel. "Well, we're past the danger zone. You need some help with those cuffs?"

"You think?"

Even after they were undone and she was free to walk beside her, Renko didn't. She still trailed just a couple steps behind.

Renko started as Maribel suddenly waved her hand in front of her face. "Wow, you are really out of it. You were fine a moment ago... You alright?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking of..." Renko had a brief moment of dissocation as she tried to find a topic. "Reimu."

"What about her?"

Something, quick! "Her power, I guess. It's just flying, isn't it? With a little training, you did it, too."

Maribel paused, looking up at the clear skies overhead. Sunny today, but a little chilly. "I don't think it's just flying. Have you heard of her Fantasy Heaven spell? She flies over reality and phases out – she's impossible to beat if she tries."

_Even Reimu... _"I guess so. But why doesn't she just do that all the time?"

"She has been lately – while spell cards were broken, at least. Yukari said she fixed it, so fights should be back to normal."

"Mm. Do you think this whole incident will fizzle out now?"

"Probably not. Eientei won't, at least, not unless Kaguya says otherwise. And if they stay, all the youkai stay, right?"

"I guess so..."

Renko wasn't really focusing. She was still thinking about Reimu. Why, exactly, did her thoughts shift to the miko? The girl herself was rather blunt. A little rough around the edges, but still fairly soft... at least, until she got dragged out for yet another incident. Renko never felt anything like that...

So why was it that she felt so familiar with Reimu?

**– TOUHOU –**

**Renko does get overshadowed a lot, doesn't she? Not just here, but in general.**


End file.
